Oman crude slides to $115.37/b

The price of Oman crude (for May 2022 delivery) slumped to $115.37 a barrel in trading on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) on Thursday after losing a steep $12.34 a barrel from the previous day’s peak of $127.71 per barrel – a level last recorded in 2008.

The average price of Oman crude (for March 2022 delivery) has stabilised at $83.62 per barrel, which was $10.48 per barrel higher than the average for February 2022 delivery .

Later on Thursday, however, Brent oil rebounded after tanking the previous day on hopes that the huge amounts of sanctions-hit Russian oil could be largely replaced by sourcing from elsewhere, said AFP.

European benchmark Brent North Sea crude climbed 5.1 per cent to $116.80 per barrel in morning deals. New York’s WTI contract advanced 3.5 per cent to $112.58.

Both contracts had collapsed by more than 12 per cent in value on Wednesday, as traders also seized on a glimmer of hope for peace talks between key producer Russia and Ukraine.

Brent tumbled as low as $105.60, having hit a peak of $139 just two days before, as the Ukraine crisis continues to send shockwaves through markets.

UAE Energy Minister Suhail al Mazrouei told state news agency WAM on Thursday that the UAE is committed to the OPEC+ agreement on monthly oil production and has not agreed to individually increase production outside that framework.

The UAE’s Ambassador to Washington, Yousuf al Otaiba, had said in a statement which the embassy posted on Twitter that Abu Dhabi favoured an increase in output and would encourage OPEC to consider one.

But later, Energy Minister Suhail al Mazrouei said the country believed in the value OPEC+ brought to the market. Until now, the group of producers comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, has resisted calls from the United States and others to increase output, even as oil prices surge to more than $120 a barrel.

— With inputs from Reuters / AFP