NEW YORK: Oil prices on both sides of the Atlantic fell yesterday on reports that some Libyan oil exports might soon resume, and that the Seaway pipeline carrying crude out of the US Cushing hub was operational.
About half of Libya’s more than 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil export capacity is out of action due to strikes and civil unrest, but officials said Tuesday some ports have reopened and more shipments could restart within days.
The Seaway pipeline that carries crude oil from Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for the U S West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contract, to the Texas coast, was “operating normally,” a spokesman for Enterprise Products Partners L P said.
The resumption was also reported by industry intelligence provider Genscape, which on Tuesday reported a shutdown on the line.
The US Energy Information Administration released data showing stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, had fallen for the seventh straight week and was down 25 percent over that seven-week period. Nationally, crude oil stocks declined by 1.4 million barrels and gasoline stocks showed a large draw, especially in the heavily populated East Coast region.
Both Brent and WTI traded within a range of less than $1 down as investors showed caution ahead of the release of minutes from its July policy-setting meeting.
Reuters
