Oil marches higher with sights on $114 a barrel

Oil relentlessly marched higher beyond $110 a barrel on Wednesday, responding to a flood of divestment from Russian oil assets by major companies and expectations that the market will remain short on supply for months to come.

The market’s surge has been dramatic, with global benchmark Brent crude gaining 11 percent this week alone after Russia invaded Ukraine and the West responded with numerous sanctions designed to hammer Russia’s economy.

While the energy sector was not specifically targeted, the sanctions, which have targeted financial transactions and banks, have hampered exporting capabilities from Russia, which ships 4 million to 5 million barrels of oil worldwide every day, more than any nation except Saudi Arabia.

“The sanctions on individuals and financial institutions have led the oil industry and other government entities to a de facto ban on Russian oil purchases,” said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston, Texas in the United States.

Continue reading »

Source: Aljazeera