London (Times Of Ocean)- Brent crude moved above $111 a barrel on Monday as EU nations considered joining the US in a Russian oil embargo as well as after an attack on Saudi oil facilities over the weekend.
Brent crude futures rose $3.40, or 3.2%, to $111.33 a barrel by 0958 GMT, adding to a 1.2% gain last Friday.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $3.65, or 3.5%, to $108.35, extending a 1.7% rise last Friday.
Prices moved higher ahead of talks this week between European Union governments and US President Joe Biden in a series of summits that are intended to harden the West’s response to Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
EU governments will decide whether to impose an oil embargo on Russia.
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Iryna Vershchuk, said early on Monday there was no chance the country’s forces would surrender in the besieged eastern port city of Mariupol.
As the conflict showed no signs of easing, the focus returned to whether the market would be able to replace Russian barrels affected by the sanctions.
“A Houthi attack on a Saudi energy terminal, warnings of a structural shortfall in production from OPEC and a potential European Union oil embargo on Russia have seen oil prices jump in Asia,” OANDA senior analyst Jeffrey Halley said in a note.
“Even if the Ukraine war ends tomorrow, the world will face a structural energy deficit thanks to Russian sanctions.”
Attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group have caused a temporary drop in production at a Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) refinery joint venture in Yanbu, feeding worries in a jittery oil products market, where Russia is a key supplier and global inventories are at multi-year lows.
The latest report from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, showed some producers are still not meeting their agreed supply quotas.