Crude oil prices have increased due to an unexpected fall in US inventories.
Brent crude earlier traded as low as $36.28 a barrel, while the front-month US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading at $36.47 per barrel, up 33 cents, Reuters reported.
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Petroleum imports in the country have fallen from almost 14 million barrels per day (bpd) since 2010 to around nine million bpd, government data revealed.
Following a decline in shale production and the lifting of a 40-year crude export ban by the US Government, the market is expected to tighten.
The oil export ban was imposed in 1975 when the country was reeling from the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo that led to a rise in gasoline prices.
At the moment, no immediate large-scale exports are expected from the country, but some oil may flow from the US into the markets worldwide in 2016.
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By GlobalDataTraders are watching for official inventory data to be published later on Wednesday.
Goldman told the news agency that crude prices may need to fall to $20 per barrel to force closures and bring production back to normal in line with demand.
