The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that some members of the oil exporters’ cartel were exploring the idea of suspending the OPEC + supply agreement with Russia. This would allow countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to intervene and alleviate a supply crisis that pushed world crude oil prices above $ 120 a barrel this week. Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of OPEC, had told Western allies that it was ready to increase its oil production if Russian production fell sharply as a result of sanctions imposed by the invasion of Ukraine in February. reported the Financial Times. An agreement could be reached on Thursday at a meeting of OPEC and Russia’s energy ministers, according to Reuters. Saudi Arabia had previously rejected US requests to increase production beyond a long-standing quota agreed with Russia and other non-OPEC producers. But worries that soaring prices could plunge the world into recession seem to be prompting a rethink.
Brent crude, the world’s leading oil company, reached $ 125 a barrel on Tuesday, its highest level since early March. U.S. WTI oil nearly reached $ 120 a barrel. Since then, both have shrunk in response to media reports, with Brent dropping another 2.3% below $ 114 and the WTI dropping 1.9% to $ 113 at 5 p.m. ET.
“[The] The OPEC + meeting later today could be crucial if Russia obtains an exemption from its production quotas, which would allow the two main foreign exchange producers, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to increase exports to fill the gap. “said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst for the Asia-Pacific region in Oanda.
“None of this will alleviate the bottleneck / crisis of refining that is driving up gasoline and diesel prices globally, but it would be uncommon good news for the global economy and fight inflation, “he added.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine prompted Western powers to ban imports of Russian crude oil and refined products. The European Union earlier this week agreed to ban 90% of Russian oil by the end of this year.
At the same time, Russia has begun to stifle natural gas exports to some EU countries, adding to the energy supply crisis that has helped bring US and European inflation to its highest level in Europe. decades and the prices of gasoline and diesel at all times. maximums.
Reuters, citing two OPEC + sources, reported on Thursday that Russian oil production had fallen by about a million barrels a day in recent months as a result of Western sanctions.