Leading OPEC producer Saudi Arabia said on February 12 it would cut an additional half a million bpd in March more than it previously pledged.
Oil prices rose more than 2 percent to their highest this year on February 15 after an outage at Saudi Arabia's offshore oilfield boosted expectations for tightening supply, while progressing US-Sino trade talks strengthened demand sentiment.
The international Brent crude benchmark rose $1.68, or 2.6 percent, to settle at $66.25 a barrel, its highest since November.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled up $1.18, or 2.2 percent, at $55.59 a barrel, and hit their highest this year in post-settlement trade at $55.80.
For the week, Brent ended more than 6 percent higher and WTI gained more than 5 percent, partly on tightening supplies since the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies led by Russia started voluntary production cuts last month.
The partial closure of Saudi Arabia's Safaniya, the world's largest offshore oilfield, occurred about two weeks ago, a source said on Friday. Safaniya has production capacity of more than 1 million barrels per day. It was not immediately clear when the field would return to full capacity.
"It's another factor that is raising concerns about the availability of crude," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. "All of a sudden you don't have to worry just about OPEC cuts. Now you have a problem with Saudi Arabia's ability to actually produce as much oil."
Leading OPEC producer Saudi Arabia said on February 12 it would cut an additional half a million bpd in March more than it previously pledged.
Supply has also been curbed by US sanctions on Venezuelan and Iranian crude and reduced Libyan output because of civil unrest. Security threats could threaten Nigerian production after general elections this weekend.
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