\VOA News February 21, 2011
Photo: Reuters
A taxi driver looks at the price as he fills the tank of his car near a board showing recently increased prices at a gas station in Shenyang, Liaoning province, February 20, 2011.
World oil prices rose sharply on Monday as violence in Libya sparked worries that energy supplies could be disrupted.
The price of Brent crude oil in London, the benchmark for much of the world, jumped more than two percent to hit $105 a barrel. That is the highest price since 2008. U.S. crude prices also rose sharply, but remain somewhat lower than London's cost.
Libya is the world’s twelfth largest oil exporter. According to the International Energy Agency, the country produces about 1.6 million barrels of crude a day, about 2 percent of global oil demand.
The reviving global economy was already pushing up energy demand and prices before the political crisis in Libya.
The Bloomberg financial news service reports that some foreign oil companies are evacuating the families of expatriate employees, and non-essential workers. One firm closed an office in Tripoli, while another suspended exploration for new oil. Still other firms are operating normally. The chairman of Libya's National Oil Corporation, Shokri Ghanem, says he has no information on a media report that a strike has stopped production in one oil field.
The price of Brent crude oil in London, the benchmark for much of the world, jumped more than two percent to hit $105 a barrel. That is the highest price since 2008. U.S. crude prices also rose sharply, but remain somewhat lower than London's cost.
Libya is the world’s twelfth largest oil exporter. According to the International Energy Agency, the country produces about 1.6 million barrels of crude a day, about 2 percent of global oil demand.
The reviving global economy was already pushing up energy demand and prices before the political crisis in Libya.
The Bloomberg financial news service reports that some foreign oil companies are evacuating the families of expatriate employees, and non-essential workers. One firm closed an office in Tripoli, while another suspended exploration for new oil. Still other firms are operating normally. The chairman of Libya's National Oil Corporation, Shokri Ghanem, says he has no information on a media report that a strike has stopped production in one oil field.