RIYADH: Oil prices edged up on Tuesday as expectations that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, may agree to a large cut in crude output when it meets on Wednesday outweighed concerns about the global economy.
Brent crude futures rose 46 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $89.32 per barrel by 0629 GMT after gaining more than 4 percent in the previous session.
US crude futures rose 30 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $83.93 a barrel. The benchmark gained more than 5 percent in the previous session, its largest daily gain since May.
OPEC+ cancels technical meeting ahead of key meeting of ministers
OPEC+ canceled a meeting of its Joint Technical Committee set for Oct. 4 ahead of a key gathering of ministers from the producer group to set policy, three OPEC+ sources told Reuters on Monday.
The JTC advises the OPEC+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee and the overall OPEC+ ministerial meeting on market fundamentals.
One of the sources said the decision to scrap the JTC meeting came from the JMMC, without elaborating.
Norway posts soldiers at oil, gas plants after Nord Stream leaks
Norway’s military said on Monday it had posted soldiers to help guard major onshore oil and gas processing plants, part of a wider effort to boost security amid suspicion that sabotage caused leaks in the Nord Stream gas pipelines last week.
Russia’s Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines burst on Sept. 26, draining gas into the Baltic Sea off the coast of Denmark and Sweden. Seismologists registered explosions in the area, and police in several countries have launched investigations.
Norway, Europe’s largest gas supplier and a major oil exporter, last week deployed its navy and air force to patrol offshore petroleum fields and announced it would receive assistance from Britain, Germany and France in doing so.
At the request of Norwegian police, the Norwegian Home Guard, a rapid mobilization force, on Monday began to deploy troops at plants responsible for processing and exporting oil and gas.
Although the Norwegian government has said it was not aware of any specific threats to oil and gas infrastructure, it still found it prudent to beef up security and sought to calm concerns among workers.
(With input from Reuters)
