Brasília – As a result of the political instability in Libya, the price of Brent oil rose 1.75% today (21), reaching US$ 104.57, the highest level since the beginning of the economic crisis in 2008. Oil company BP announced the intention of evacuating part of its 140 employees from the country, a great exporter of oil to the European market. In the sidelines, the shares of Italian oil company ENI, which operates in Libya, dropped 3.2%.
Libya produces 2% of the oil extracted worldwide; however, the nation is responsible for 10% of the European market. Italy is the main buyer. The oil industry is fundamental for the Libyan economy, representing 95% of exports and 25% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Company ENI informed, last Saturday (19) that its operations had not been affected by the violence that spread throughout Tripoli that day. According to reports, a strike closed Nafoora field, operated by a subsidiary of the Libyan state-owned oil company. The company has already interrupted its operations on onshore fields, although most of them are still in preparatory phases, not producing oil.
The commodity markets are not concerned just with Libya, but also with the threat of growing tension in Iran, the second main producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec). Another country affected by disturbance in the Middle East, Bahrain had its credit rating lowered on Monday by rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P).
*Translated by Mark Ament
