Oil up as Statoil plans production halt due to Norway strike

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Oil hit a one-month high on Thursday as Statoil ASA (NYSE: STO) said it would begin shutting down production due to a labor conflict, The Associated Press reports.

Oil hit a one-month high on Thursday as Statoil ASA? ? Statoil ASA Latest from The Business Journals FMC Technologies signs 0M contract with StatoilChesapeake sale would be complicated, analysts saySullivan Group refocuses business strategy Follow this company (NYSE: STO) said it would begin shutting down production due to a labor conflict, The Associated Press reports.

Norway-based Statoil is preparing to shut down production on the Norwegian continental shelf after an employers? group, the Norwegian Oil Industry Association, said it would lock out workers next week after efforts to end a strike failed, the AP reports. So far, the strike has affected 13 percent of Norway?s total oil production, experts estimate, and the lockout will affect the nation?s entire offshore production. The Norwegian government could force the workers to end the strike, the AP reports.

The AP reports that benchmark oil for August delivery reached $88.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday, while crude closed at $87.66 on July 3, the last day the August contract settled in New York. Brent crude for August delivery reached $101.45 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange Thursday.

Interest rate cuts announced by Chinese central bank and the European Central Bank, the Bank of England?s new economic stimulus measures and a European ban on buying Iranian crude are also affecting oil prices, the AP reports.

Olivia Pulsinelli is the web producer for the Houston Business Journal's award-winning website.

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