Oil Prices Ease To Below $98 A Barrel, Extend Losses On Supply Boost News

Saudi Aramco stands ready to raise crude oil output to its maximum capacity of 12 million barrels per day if requested to do so by the Saudi Arabian government, Chief Executive Amin Nasser said

Investors are looking ahead to China economic data later on Monday for demand cues at the world’s top crude oil importer.

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Crude oil prices declined for a second session on Monday after Saudi Aramco, the head of the world's top exporter, said it is ready to ramp up output while production at several offshore US Gulf of Mexico platforms is resuming after a brief outage last week, Reuters said.

According to the report, Saudi Aramco stands ready to raise crude oil output to its maximum capacity of 12 million barrels per day (bpd) if requested to do so by the Saudi Arabian government, Chief Executive Amin Nasser said.

“We are confident of our ability to ramp up to 12 million bpd any time there is a need or a call from the government or from the ministry of energy to increase our production,” Nasser said, while adding that China’s easing of Covid-19 restrictions and a pick-up in the aviation industry could add to demand.

Brent crude futures fell 27 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $97.88 a barrel after settling 1.5 per cent lower on Friday. US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $91.87 a barrel, down 22 cents, or 0.2 per cent, following a 2.4 per cent drop in the previous session.

Investors are looking ahead to China economic data later on Monday for demand cues at the world’s top crude oil importer.

Oil prices rebounded more than 3 per cent last week after a damaged oil pipeline component disrupted output at several offshore Gulf of Mexico platforms.

Producers had moved to reactivate some of the halted production after repairs were completed late Friday, a Louisiana official said.

Energy services firm Baker Hughes Co reported on Friday that US oil rig count rose by 3 to 601 last week. The rig count, an early indicator of future output, has been slow to grow with oil production only seen recovering from pandemic-related cuts next year.

Global oil markets remained supported by tight supplies in the run-up to EU sanctions on Russian crude oil and refined product supplies this winter.