Oil Prices Drop 1% as US Companies Resume Production

Oil prices fell 1% for the second consecutive session Monday, as US producers began to resume work after Hurricane Delta and the end of a workers’ strike that affected production in Norway.

Brent crude for December delivery fell 41 cents to $ 42.44 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery fell 42 cents to $ 40.18.

The two contracts for the nearest month gained more than 9% last week, the biggest weekly increase since June, but they fell on Friday after Norwegian oil companies reached an agreement with trade union officials that ended a strike that threatened to cut the country’s oil and gas production by close to 25%.

Hurricane Delta dealt the biggest blow to energy production from the Gulf of Mexico in the United States in 15 years, but workers began to return to production platforms yesterday, and Total is working to restart the Port Arthur refinery in Texas, which has a capacity of 225 thousand and 500 barrels.

Despite the impact of the hurricane, oil prices near $ 40 a barrel in the past few months encouraged US energy companies to add oil and natural gas rigs for the fourth consecutive week, according to data from Baker Hughes.

It is expected that the production of Libya, a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, will rise to 355,000 barrels per day today, after the force majeure was lifted from the El Sharara field on Sunday.