Oil prices struck $108 a barrelFebruary 22, 2011 - 16:19 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Oil prices struck $108 Feb 22, as Libyan production was hit by violent protests and concerns grew over spreading unrest in the strategic crude-producing Middle East and North Africa region. Brent North Sea crude for delivery in April surged to $108.57 a barrel, hitting the highest level since September 4, 2008, before pulling back to $107.75, up $2.01 from Feb 21 closing level. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for March, known as West Texas Intermediate, hit a high of $94.49. The contract later stood at $94.08, up $7.88 from last week. Libya is the first major oil exporter to be engulfed by the crisis in the Middle East and the first to see any significant disruption to oil production. Analysts said that much of Libya's oil industry is offshore and should be relatively easy for government forces to secure. But one major oilfield has already been shut down by industrial action in support of the protests and others have been threatened, they added, RTE reported. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. |