Oil prices tick up as investors assess force majeure at Kazakh field

Oil prices were little changed on Wednesday as optimism around tighter supply after a temporary shutdown at two large fields in Kazakhstan was offset by expectations of a build in U.S. crude inventories.

Brent futures were up 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $64.98 a barrel at 11:33 a.m. EST (1633 GMT). The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude contract rose 15 cents, or 0.3%, to $60.51 a barrel.

Both contracts closed about 1.5% higher in the previous session after OPEC+ producer Kazakhstan halted output at its Tengiz and Korolev oilfields on Sunday due to power distribution issues.

Elsewhere in the country, oil from the vast Kashagan field has been diverted to the domestic market for the first time due to bottlenecks at the Black Sea CPC terminal, four industry sources told Reuters on Wednesday after equipment at the terminal was seriously damaged in .

Reuters reported on Wednesday that the operator of the Tengiz oilfield, TCO, has declared force majeure on crude oil deliveries into the CPC pipeline system, citing a TCO letter. Oil production at the two Kazakh fields could be halted for another seven to 10 days, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing three industry sources.

INCREASED GEOPOLITICAL TENSIONS

Limiting oil market gains, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday there was "no going back" on his goal of controlling Greenland, though he added that the use of U.S. military force would not be necessary. Last week he vowed to implement a wave of increasing tariffs on European allies until the U.S. is allowed to buy the island, which is a part of Denmark.