Ukraine-Russian Crisis Pushes Crude Oil Price To $139, Highest In 13 Years
The Russian-Ukraine crisis has dragged crude oil price to $139 per barrel which is the highest since 2008.
Benchmark oil price- Brent crude rose above $139 a barrel, but it fell to $129 around 9:01am WAT.
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West Texas Intermediate rose above $126, but relaxed to $125.45 by 9:02am.
Russia launched a large- scale military operation in Ukraine on February 24 which saw crude oil price surge in the first day to $103.
Russia is a key player in Europe’s energy supply, accounting for 40 per cent of the continent’s natural gas.
The United States and its allies are considering sanctions on Russian oil supplies.
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Unites States House of Representatives, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said in a letter on Sunday that the chamber is “exploring” legislation to ban the import of Russian oil.
Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of States said “We are now in very active discussions with our European partners about banning the import of Russian oil to our countries, while of course, at the same time, maintaining a steady global supply of oil.”
In Nigeria the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, had expressed fears of the impact of high oil prices on the economy.
He maintained that Nigeria’s comfort zone in terms of oil prices was between $70 and $80 per barrel.
He said, “I’m hopeful the prices will move around, maybe $80, maybe $70. We are hoping it will come down to somewhere around $70 to $80, which will be sustainable for us by the end of the year.”
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Experts have said that the spike will increase the amount spent by the government on subsidy.
“We will see an upsurge in petrol import and subsidy bills in coming months as the landing cost of petrol increases on the back of the rise in crude oil price.
“Regrettably, we remain a major importer of petroleum products and typically when oil prices increase, petrol import bill and subsidy payment also increase,” said muda Yusuf, the Director General of the Centre of the Promotion of Private Enterprises.
