Brent crude oil prices jumped above $65 per barrel after the shut down of the Forties North Sea pipeline knocked out significant supplies.
Brent crude, the international benchmark for crude oil, traded at $65.24 a barrel. The last time oil prices reached this point was in June 2015 when it traded at $65.49.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at 58.21 dollars a barrel on Tuesday.
Britain’s Forties oil pipeline, the country’s largest at a capacity of 450,000 barrels per day (bpd), stopped production on Monday after cracks were revealed.
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“The market reaction shows that in a tight market, any supply issue will quickly be reflected in higher prices,” said ANZ bank.
The jump in Brent prices widened its premium to WTI prices, making US oil exports more attractive.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) had agreed on an output production cut to reduce the supply glut which led to a decline in oil prices.
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Nigeria was exempted from the cuts on the grounds of the crisis in the Niger Delta.
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