Oil Updates — Crude up; Sri Lanka to pay $72.6m to buy Russian oil; US renews Chevron’s Venezuela license

Oil Updates — Crude up; Sri Lanka to pay $72.6m to buy Russian oil; US renews Chevron’s Venezuela license

RIYADH: Oil prices rose on Friday, closing out the week with gains ahead of the US Memorial Day holiday weekend, the start of peak US demand season, and as European nations negotiate over whether to impose an outright ban on Russian crude oil. Brent crude rose $2.03, or 1.7 percent, to settle at $119.43. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 98 cents, or 0.9 percent, to settle at $115.07 a barrel. For the week, Brent rose 6 percent while US WTI gained 1.5 percent. Sri Lanka will pay $72.6 million to buy a 90,000-ton shipment of Russian oil docked at Colombo’s port for weeks, its energy minister said on Saturday, as the island nation works to restart its only refinery and address a crippling energy crisis. “I have reached out to multiple countries, including Russia, for support to import crude and other petroleum products,” Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera told reporters. The 90,000-ton consignment was ordered through Dubai-based Coral Energy, Wijesekera said, adding that the payment would facilitate restarting the country’s sole refinery, which has been closed since March 25. “The next shipment will also be ordered from the same company. Another consignment will be needed within the next