Protests forced a full shutdown of production at OPEC member Libya's 300,000 barrel per day (bpd) Sharara oilfield. Oil prices also climbed due to continued attacks on vessels in the Red Sea by Houthi fighters. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said cooperation and dialogue within the wider OPEC+ oil producer alliance will continue, after OPEC member Angola last month announced it would leave the group. UPCOMING U.S. REPORTSLooking ahead, the energy market is waiting for key U.S. interest rate and oil inventory data over the next couple of days. Analysts forecast U.S. energy firms pulled about 3.0 million barrels of oil from storage during the week ended Dec. 29.
