Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak discussed cooperation with OPEC+ producers by phone on Monday with Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh. The statement from Russia's Energy Ministry added that the two ministers also discussed the state of world oil markets.
Saudi Arabia's exports of crude oil in December 2019 remained unchanged from the previous month at 7.37 mil bpd, official data showed on Monday. The kingdom’s crude output fell by 296,000 bpd month-on-month to 9.59 mil bpd in December, according to the Joint Organisations Data Initiative.
Several Chinese independent refineries, which are nicknamed teapots, have been snapping up crude supplies after oil prices dropped, Reuters reported on Monday citing various industry sources. "They are probably betting on the market outlook, thinking the market is at the bottom now," said one of Reuters’ sources, who trades with Chinese buyers. Amongst the buyers, Wonfull Petrochemical bought 2 mil bbls of Djeno crude last Friday from an oil major for delivery in April, two of the sources said.Major oil traders have rented crude storage facilities in South Korea that can hold millions of bbls of supply, in a bet that oil demand will spike when China recovers from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, Reuters reported on Monday citing several trading sources. The sources said that Trafigura, Glencore, Mercuria, and the trading division of Total SA have collectively rented close to 15 mil bbls of storage tanks from South Korea's state oil firm Korea National Oil Corp. The new storage leases run for either 3 or 6 months.
Libya's oil production stood at 135,745 bpd as of Monday, the country’s national oil corporation (NOC), said on Monday. The NOC statement added that financial losses from the oil blockade have exceeded $1.6 billion. Libya’s output has collapsed since January 18 due to a blockade of export ports and oilfields by groups loyal to military commander Khalifa Haftar.