Brent Crude Oil Hits $130 a Barrel on Monday Amid Uncertainty Surrounding Iranian Crude

Global uncertainty trailing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine bolstered the price of Brent crude oil to the highest since 2008 on Monday during the Asian trading session.

Russia on Friday had demanded a written assurance from the United States that the sanctions on Moscow would not hurt Russian cooperation with Iran once the U.S and Iran revive the 2015 nuclear deal, a senior Iranian official stated on Saturday, Investors King understands.

According to the official, “Russians had put this demand on the table (at the Vienna talks) since two days ago. There is an understanding that by changing its position in Vienna talks Russia wants to secure its interests in other places. This move is not constructive for Vienna nuclear talks”.

Energy experts now believed the demand by Russia could slow down the ongoing talks between Tehran and Washington, and the timeline expected for Iranian crude oil to hit the global market once the United States and other Western nations impose sanctions on Russian crude oil.

Oil traders expect this projected delay to further worsen crude oil scarcity and push crude oil prices to around $150 per barrel without a clear solution.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Nigerian crude oil, gapped upward to $130.68 a barrel or 18% in the early hours of Monday at 5:41 am Nigerian time, the highest in 14 years.

Responding to Russia’s demands, Anthony Blinken, U.S Secretary of State, on Sunday claimed the sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine have nothing to do with the nuclear deal with Iran. He, however, confirmed that the United States and European allies are looking to ban Russian crude oil imports.

Global oil supply remained tight compared to global demand for the commodity. OPEC and allies, together known as OPEC plus, have failed to meet their supply targets for months despite efforts at boosting global crude oil supplies by 400,000 barrels per day.

Oil investors now believed a ban on Russian crude oil, widely expected later this weak could exacerbate the current crude oil situation and pressure oil prices even higher.

“We have plenty of twists and turns to come,” Mike Muller, Vitol Group’s head of Asia, said Sunday on a podcast produced by Dubai-based consultant and publisher Gulf Intelligence. “While I think the world is already pricing in the fact there’ll be an inability to take in a serious amount of Russian oil in the western hemisphere, I don’t think we’ve priced in everything yet.”