Oil prices fell on Wednesday after U.S. crude inventories rose last week by the most since 2016, while gasoline demand suffered its biggest weekly drop ever due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Crude inventories rose by 13.8 million barrels last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. That was the biggest one-week rise since 2016, and analysts expect similar data in coming weeks, as refineries curb output further and gasoline demand continues to decline.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 fell 17 cents to settle at $20.31 a barrel, after hitting a low at $19.90.
In a report published today, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that the global crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic will be felt throughout oil’s global supply chains and ripple into other parts of the energy sector.
Oil prices crumbled as the pandemic slashed global fuel consumption, with further pressure from a supply shock due to the end of production cuts from OPEC producers and Russia.
Crude oil prices ended a volatile quarter with their biggest losses in history, and declined about 55% in March, the most on record. Prices also plunged to their lowest level since 2002 on Monday.
About 5 million barrels of oil extracted worldwide every day are not attracting high enough premiums to offset the costs of extracting it out of the field, according to the Paris-based IEA agency.
Prices available to producers in Western Canada have dropped to single digits, and instances of negative prices have also emerged in parts of North America for other grades, IEA said in the report.
Oil producers have responded by implementing major reductions to their spending on new production, with the initial cuts in the 20%-35% range relative to what was previously planned for 2020, the report added.
Many oil majors will re-evaluate their existing portfolios, possibly leading to another wave of refinery closures.
In a statement published yesterday, the Municipality of Tripoli Center has underscored that it had received no financial support to date, with respect to the emergency budget announced by the Presidential Council, on March 17, to face Coronavirus in Tripoli.
The municipality stressed that the services provided during the last period were solely delivered with the community’s own efforts and with the help of donors and volunteers, in the framework of a plan that relies heavily on self-effort.
The Tripoli government has revealed the completion of the new quarantine centre at Tripoli Eye Hospital.
The centre is made up of four floors with a capacity of fifty beds, of which four are ICUs. The quarantine centre is housed in a separate building from the rest of the Eye Hospital to ensure isolation.
The government has also revealed the delivery of further supplies to its Misrata quarantine centre. It has also reported various anti-Coronavirus activities such as Municipalities spraying streets with disinfectant including at Mitiga airport in Tripoli and in Sebha.
In related activities, Tripoli Municipality has revealed a list of doctors available for house calls. A prominent one doing the rounds is a site called ‘’Hello doctor’’ consisting of 38 doctors of all specializations.
In eastern Libya, ‘‘Prime Minister’’ Abdulla Thinni opened the quarantine centre at Hawari hospital in Benghazi which holds 134 beds including 34 ICU units equipped with ventilators.
The board of National Oil Corporation (NOC) has welcomed the release of Mr Ashraf Msallam and Mr Valentin-Laurentiu Puscasu who have been held captive for 1 year and 7 months.
“I am very glad to see these men are safe and that their time in captivity has finally ended. The safety of employees and workers is a priority.” NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said in a statement issued on Monday
Sanalla added that some workers in NOC facilities can be exposed to significant risks and we must guarantee their security at all times. I wish Mr Msallam and Mr Puscasu a quick reunion with their families and loved ones, as soon as it is safe to do so.”
He also called on the relevant law enforcement agencies to urgently investigate this situation further and name and prosecute those responsible for this crime, to ensure future kidnappings never happen again.
Following accusations that some medical staff were absconding and avoiding working with Coronavirus patients, Libya’s Medical Union has called on all hospitals to provide the necessary equipment, material and environment for its members.
It also called for the provision of isolation accommodation for medical staff and stated that medical staff should not be expected to put themselves at unnecessary risk due to lack of resources.
In response, the internationally recognized government made a point of publicizing footage of 50 sterilization and ambulance vehicles setting off yesterday from Mitiga Military Hospital, where the Tripoli authorities have set up a Coronavirus quarantine centre, to be handed over to various municipalities.
The authorities would not reveal which municipalities, which led to complaints that some municipalities were overlooked. The vehicles were also carrying shipments of medical equipment and supplies. Other vehicles were disinfection vehicles to help prepare hospitals to take on patients. The Health Ministry said that this was part of measures to curb the new Coronavirus.
The United Nations (UN) called Monday for a USD 2.5-trillion aid package to help developing countries weather the COVID-19 pandemic, including debt cancellation and a health recovery “Marshal Plan”.
A report from the United Nations Conference on Trade, Investment and Development (UNCTAD) noted that two-thirds of the global population who live in developing countries (excluding China) face “unprecedented economic damage” from the crisis.
“It is a matter of immediate urgency for the international community to co-ordinate appropriate economic rescue packages with a more global reach to address the looming financing gap which many developing countries are now imminently facing,” the report said.
In the two months since COVID-19 began spreading beyond China, developing countries have been hit hard by capital outflows, currency depreciations, and lost export earnings, notably from falling commodity prices and declining tourist revenues.
In most areas, the impact is worse than during the 2008 financial crisis, UNCTAD said.
“Economic fallout from the shock is ongoing and increasingly difficult to predict but there are clear indications that things will get much worse for developing economies before they get better,” UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi said in a statement.
Today, the National Oil Corporation published a public information bulletin noting that the low levels of supply in some areas means there is a risk of fuel shortages for some Libyans.
” This may cause periods of power outage for some people in certain regions. This shortage is caused by the blockade.” NOC stated.
NOC sressed that southern regions are experiencing a lack of supplies as well due to the deteriorating security conditions.
NOC said the current levels of production are 79,655 barrels a day, as of Sunday March 29, 2020, adding that forced restriction of production has resulted in financial losses exceeding 3,808,948,443 USD since January 17, 2020.
“These are funds that could be spent on medical supplies and equipment to help all Libyans deal with COVID 19.” the corporation noted.
Yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it has classified Libya among the high-risk countries in the region and asserted the importance of observing the preventive measures for protection against Coronavirus (Covid-19).
The announcement comes the day after Libya had announced 5 new cases of Covid-19.
Today, the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) in Tripoli introduced further restrictive instructions to all banks’ managers among which reducing the daily working hours of the banking sector.
As far as all the banks are concerned, the Central Bank of Libya stressed that the working hours of the bank employee will start at 9a.m. and ends at 12 p.m. However, citizens can access to the banks’ services from 09:30 to 11:30.
