The UAE’s Ambassador to the US, Yousef Al Otaiba, on Wednesday said that his country will be calling on OPEC to increase production of oil.
Oil prices have been skyrocketing since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, prompting fears over the future supply of crude in a market that was already tight. Prices have further increased following the announcement that the US and other would impose sanctions on Russian hydrocarbons, essentially leaving the world’s third biggest producer out of the global market.
“We favour production increases and will be encouraging OPEC to consider higher production levels,” Ambassador Al Otaiba said in a statement.
“The UAE has been a reliable and responsible supplier of energy to global markets for more than 50 years and believes that stability in energy markets is critical to the global economy,” he added.
On the same day, the UAE’s Minister of Energy & Infrastructure, Suhail Mohamed AlMazrouei, took to Twitter to affirm the country’s commitment to OPEC+ and to the group’s output agreement.
“The UAE believes in the value OPEC+ brings to the oil market. The UAE is committed to the OPEC+ agreement and its existing monthly production adjustment mechanism,” he said.
Following the announcement Brent crude prices fell from a 14-year high to close at $111.14 on Wednesday. Prices have since increased another 4.5 percent to $116.14 as of Thursday afternoon.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February prompted the price of oil to rapidly rise. Now experts are predicting that the price could rise further, as far as $240 per barrel, should sanctions on exports of Russian-associated crude remain in place.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies came to a historic agreement in 2020 to remove 20 percent of global supply from markets in a bid to help stabilise the oil market in freefall due to Covid-19 demand destruction. Since then, the group has been slowly increasing production while seeking to maintain market stability.
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