2024-03-25 10:40:48
Oil prices are rising on Monday, driven by concerns over Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure.
Around 10:15 a.m. GMT (11:15 a.m. in Paris), the price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea, for delivery in May, gained 0.71% to $86.04.
Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery the same month, rose 0.76% to 81.24 dollars.
A fire broke out on Saturday in an oil refinery in the Russian region of Samara (Volga), attacked by a drone, the regional governor said.
The refinery managed by Russian oil giant Rosneft is one of the largest in the Samara region, with a production capacity of 7 million tonnes of oil per year, according to information available on its official website.
These are new strikes “as part of continued Ukrainian attacks against Russian energy infrastructure”, comment DNB analysts.
The drone attacks “resulted in a considerable drop in utilization levels (of Russian refineries), which inevitably impacted the country’s product exports and provided additional upward momentum” for crude prices , explains Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM Energy.
Oilfield services giant SLB told the Financial Times on Monday that it had no plans to leave Russia.
In addition, “the terrorist attack in Moscow (Friday) adds to global tensions,” continue DNB analysts.
The Kremlin refused on Monday to comment on the claim by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) of the deadly attack in the suburbs of Moscow, arguing that the investigation was still ongoing, Vladimir Putin having mentioned a Ukrainian lead refuted by kyiv as in West.
Friday’s massacre left at least 137 dead in a concert hall, the deadliest attack on European soil claimed by ISIS.
Tensions in the Middle East also remain at the heart of investors’ concerns.
Houthi rebels attacked a Chinese oil tanker on Saturday using ballistic missiles, one of which hit the vessel, off the coast of Yemen where the rebel group’s attacks against merchant shipping are increasing, the US military reported.
The Houthis are behind at least 50 attacks on ships off the coast of Yemen since the fall, a senior Pentagon official said in Washington on Thursday.
For the moment, tensions in the region “have not led to any real disruption of supply”, however, Mr. Varga tempers.
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