ANKARA

Oil prices continued their upward trend on Friday as Hurricane Francine forced a significant portion of US oil and gas production offline after making landfall earlier this week.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 0.49% to $72.32 per barrel at 10:14 a.m. local time (0714 GMT), up from the previous session's close of $71.97. Meanwhile, the US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), saw a 0.52% increase, reaching $69.33 per barrel after closing at $68.97 on Thursday.

Hurricane Francine struck the US coast on Wednesday as a Category 2 storm, sparking concerns about potential disruptions in oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, a major energy-producing region.

According to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), workers from 169 production platforms, representing 45.55% of the Gulf's output, have been evacuated since the storm began. The BSEE also reported that approximately 41.74% of current oil production and 53.32% of natural gas production in the Gulf is currently offline due to the storm's impact.

The agency assured that once the storm passes, facilities will be inspected and undamaged platforms will resume production immediately. However, it warned that any facilities sustaining damage could face delays in coming back online.