ISLAMABAD
Crude oil prices surged but remained volatile on Tuesday as the European Union plans an embargo on Russian crude imports days after installations in Saudi Arabia came under attack.
As of 1325 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, gained $0.57 (+0.49 percent) to reach 116.19 a barrel. During the early trade, Brent crude prices neared $120 per barrel and then slipped to $113.8 a barrel.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main oil benchmark for North America, inched up to $112.23 a barrel, up by $0.11 (+0.10 percent).
The WTI crude jumped to $116 a barrel and then slipped to $109.60 a barrel during the intraday trade.
The price for Opec basket was recorded at $113.84 a barrel with an increase of 4.33 percent. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of Saharan Blend, Girassol, Djeno, Zafiro, Rabi Light, Iran Heavy, Basra Light, Kuwait Export, Es Sider, Bonny Light, Arab Light, Murban and Merey.
Arab Light was available at $117.89 a barrel with an increase of 7.98 percent and the price of Russian Sokol jumped to $97.38 a barrel with an 8.36 percent increase.
The European Union members will discuss a possible oil embargo on Russian crude this Thursday in response to Moscow’s military offensive in Ukraine, but are divided about imposing a ban due to the heavy reliance of some countries, namely Germany and Hungary, on Russia’s oil. A decision on a ban requires the approval of all 27-member states of the EU.
The Saudi-led military coalition on Sunday said Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels had launched attacks on energy units, including an Aramco liquefied gas plant in the Red Sea port of Yanbu, an oil storage plant in Jeddah, an Aramco oil terminal in the southern border town of Jizan, as well as on the installations of Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Company.
No casualties were reported in the attacks, but the kingdom’s Energy Ministry said there was a temporary drop in output at the Yanbu refinery, which produces 400,000 barrels of oil a day. The kingdom said it will not bear any responsibility for shortages in crude supplies to global markets following the attacks on its energy infrastructure.
Russia is the world’s second-largest energy exporter. It accounts for about 10 percent of the world’s energy output, including 17 percent of its natural gas and 12 percent of its oil. It supplies about 40 percent of Europe’s gas, while Russian crude accounts for about 3 percent of US oil imports, equal to about 200,000 barrels a day. Russian imports account for 8 percent of total UK oil demand.
