Oil rises 1% after fire at US refinery, set to snap four-session losing streak

Oil prices rose 1% on Friday after four straight sessions of declines after a fire broke out at one of the largest refineries on the US West Coast, but were still on track for their steepest weekly fall since late June.

Brent crude futures gained 61 cents, or 1%, to $64.73 a barrel by 0658 GMT.

US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed by 62 cents, or 1%, to $61.10 a barrel.

A fire broke out on Friday at Chevron’s El Segundo refinery, one of the largest on the US West Coast, but the flames had been confined to one area according to a county official.

In a regulatory filing, the US energy major also reported an emergency flaring at the 290,000 bpd refinery, which mainly produces gasoline, jet fuel and diesel.

However, Brent was trading 7.6% lower, and the WTI was down 7% on a weekly basis due to market expectations that the OPEC+ group could hike output further despite oversupply concerns.

OPEC+ could agree to raise oil production by up to 500,000 barrels per day in November, triple the increase for October, as Saudi Arabia seeks to reclaim market share, sources told Reuters this week.

“If OPEC+ do go ahead and announce a 500,000 bpd increase this weekend, it’s likely a big enough increase to send crude oil lower again, initially to support at $58.00, before a test of this year’s lows (of around) $55.00,” said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG.

Potentially higher OPEC+ supply, slowing global crude refinery runs due to maintenance and a seasonal dip in demand in the months ahead are set to accelerate oil stock builds in the US and elsewhere, analysts say.

The Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that US crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories rose last week as refining activity and demand softened.

“We believe September marked a turning point, with the oil market now heading towards a sizeable surplus in Q4 2025 and into next year,” JPMorgan analysts said in a note.

The Group of Seven nations’ finance ministers said on Wednesday they will take steps to increase pressure on Russia by targeting those who are continuing to boost purchases of Russian oil.