International crude marker Dated Brent hit $113.36/ barrel December 4, before falling to $108.17/b December 13 and then jumping back up to $110.30 December 16. The main factor pushing the price has been developments in Libya, where crude production was reported to have fallen to as low as 250,000 b/d in early December. The country's eastern oil terminals have been blockaded for five months and crude prices softened on news that tribal leaders in the eastern Cyrenaica region had pledged to reopen the ports and allow oil exports to resume - provided the central government in Tripoli met a number of conditions. However, rebel leader Ibrahim al-Jathran, head of an eastern Libyan autonomy movement, refused to allow the ports to reopen December 16, claiming the conditions had not been met. The blockades of the key ports of Es Sider, Marsa el-Hariga, Ras Lanuf and Zueitina - with a combined export capacity of 740,000 b/d - were ordered by rebels demanding more autonomy for the Cyrenaica region.
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