TheCable

Global oil prices plummeted by over 13 percent as the United Arab Emirates called for an output hike amid supply disruptions caused by sanctions on Russian oil. 

On Wednesday, Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, fell 13.36 percent to $110, while West Texas Intermediate plunged $12.44 percent to $108.3. 

Crude oil prices fell amid reports that the UAE would motivate its OPEC members to boost production to fill the gap created by sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine.

Russia exports around 7 million barrels per day of crude and refined fuel, representing around 7% of global supplies.

“We favour production increases and will be encouraging OPEC to consider higher production levels,” Yousuf Al Otaiba said in a statement tweeted by the UAE embassy in Washington.

“That’s nothing. They can probably bring about 800,000 barrels to the market very quickly, even immediately, bringing us one-seventh of the way there in replacing Russian supply,” Bob Yawner, director of energy futures at Mizuho, said. 

The United States had banned the importation of coal, gas and oil from Russia amid the invasion of Ukraine.

On the side, Britain had said it would phase out imports of Russian oil by the end of 2022 and consider banning its natural gas. 

In Nigeria, optimal production has been impeded by several operational and technical issues.

According to OPEC’s latest production data, Nigeria produced 1.39 million bpd in January — representing a 20.8 percent decrease from OPEC’s target of 1.6 million bpd.