Oil rises after production at West Europe largest fields disrupted

Oil drilling rigs

Oil edged higher today, Nov. 19, amid concerns about the escalation of the military situation in Ukraine and the disruption of production at the Johan Sverdrup field in Norway.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading up 0.26% at $73.49 a barrel, at 09:06 am Makkah time. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 0.16% at $69.28 a barrel.

WTI crude December contract, which expire on Nov. 20, was up 0.23% at $69.32 a barrel.

Norway's Equinor announced on Nov. 18 that it had stopped production at its Johan Sverdrup field, the largest in Western Europe, due to a power outage resulting from the failure of an onshore power plant.

A company spokesman told Reuters that work is underway to restore production, without specifying a timetable.

Separately, Kazakhstan's Tengiz field, operated by the American Chevron, reduced its production by between 28% and 30% due to maintenance work. The Kazakh Energy Ministry reported that maintenance is expected to be completed next Saturday.

These factors led to an improvement in the performance of the oil markets, in addition to fears of a worsening military situation in Ukraine after media reports said Washington allowing Kiev to use long-range US-made weapons to strike deep inside Russia.