© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Dust blows around a crude oil pump jacket and burns excess fuel at a drill cushion in the Permian Basin in Loving CountyBy Jessica Jaganathan
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Edge oil prices remained stable on Monday when storms swept in the Gulf of Mexico, closing more than half of the region’s oil production, although prices were limited by persistent concerns about demand for fuel by being fired by coronavirus lockdowns.
Brent futures () slipped 2 cents, or 0.1%, to $ 44.33 per barrel by 0316 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude () slipped 2 cents, or 0.1%, to $ 42.32 per barrel. barrel. Both benchmark contracts were up early Monday.
On Sunday, Hurricane Marco and Tropical Storm Laura swept across the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, causing energy companies to pull workers off offshore platforms and shut down oil production.
Producers had shut down 58% of the Gulf’s offshore oil output and 45% of supply on Sunday. The region contains 17% of total U.S. oil production and 5% of U.S. natural gas production.
“Red prices have gone up as double problems in the Atlantic could lead to enormous disruptions with oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA in New York.
“However, oil profits are likely to be suppressed as unusual uncertainty about viruses continues to weigh on the rough demand outlook.”
The worldwide death toll from the coronavirus exceeded 800,000 on Saturday, according to a Reuters census, with the United States, Brazil and India leading the rise in deaths.
As well as limiting the potential for price increases, the U.S. oil and natural rig count increased this week for the first time since March, with energy companies adding the most oil pellets in seven months as shale producers resume drilling.
Still, added to support for prices was a report by members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other oil powers, including Russia, that countries in the OPEC + group that were above May to July above delivery pumps will have to cut output by more than a million tons per day for two months to compensate.
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