Libya's Oil Production Renewal Unlikely To Boost Market Imbalance- Russian Energy Minister

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Libya's Oil Production Renewal Unlikely to Boost Market Imbalance- Russian Energy Minister

MINERALNYE VODY (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th February, 2020) Renewal of oil production in Libya will not exacerbate the disequilibrium of supply and demand, caused by the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, as it is already factored in by the market, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday.

The recent outbreak has been having an adverse effect on the oil market, driving down global oil prices. On Thursday, the OPEC+ Joint Technical Committee recommended cutting oil production as the market moves into a bearish phase due to the epidemic. Russia opposed such an initiative.

"When Libya exited the market, the market did not react to that, understanding that it will return.

That is why all these things are already being taken into account in the market," Novak told reporters.

The energy minister voiced his expectations to see a slowing down of the oil production growth rates in the United States.

In January, Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced an emergency due to its inability to ship oil from Libyan ports. According to the NOC, the shipping was stopped per the order of the Libyan National Army's Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. Later in the month, the NOC stated that the blockade had caused the country's oil production to go down to 284,000 barrels per day from 1.22 million barrels per day.