Brent, WTI Prices Edge Up on Kazakhstan, Libyan Supply Worries

Oil prices edged up on Monday as supply disruptions in Kazakhstan and Libya offset worries stemming from the rapid global rise in Omicron infections.
Brent crude rose 24 cents, or 0.3%, to $81.99 a barrel, while WTI crude was up 22 cents, or 0.3%, at $79.12 a barrel, Reuters reported.
Oil prices gained 5% last week after protests in Kazakhstan disrupted train lines and hit production at the country's top oilfield Tengiz, while pipeline maintenance in Libya pushed production down to 729,000 barrels per day from a high of 1.3 million bpd last year.
"It is all supply issues at the moment," said Howie Lee, an economist at Singapore's OCBC bank, referring to the disruptions in Libya, Kazakhstan and falling crude inventories in the United States.
Russia's output is also seemingly hitting a cap, he added.
These factors "look like they will continue to shape up a bullish narrative for oil", Lee said.
Kazakhstan's largest oil venture Tengizchevroil is gradually increasing production to reach normal rates at the Tengiz field after protests limited output there in recent days, operator Chevron said on Sunday.
If Russia invades Ukraine, it could disrupt Russian crude exports to Europe and push oil prices higher, RBC Capital analysts said in a note.