DUBAI: Omani Energy Minister Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Rumhy said he expected global oil prices to stay in a range between $65 and $75 a barrel until the end of the year, the state-run Oman News Agency (ONA) reported on Saturday.
He was also quoted as saying Oman remained committed to the OPEC+ agreement until the end of 2019.
Under the accord reached in December 2018, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) along with Russia and other non-OPEC producers — an alliance known as OPEC+ — agreed to reduce oil supply by 1.2 million barrels per day from Jan. 1 for six months.
The OPEC+ alliance was formed in 2017. Since its inception, oil prices have doubled to more than $60 per barrel, mainly as a result of a series of production cuts by its members.
The official selling price (OSP) for Oman crude in May will rise by $2.50 to $66.98 a barrel, the highest in five months, Reuters calculations based on data from the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) showed on Friday.
However, Saudi Arabia is having a hard time convincing Russia to stay much longer in OPEC-led pact, and Moscow may agree only to a three-month extension. Should Russia pull out of the latest deal on cutting output, oil prices would drop.
Separately, Al-Rumhy said the Oman Oil Co. was conducting a feasibility study regarding taking a 30 percent stake in a new oil refinery project on Sri Lanka’s south coast.
The project will be Sri Lanka’s first new refinery in 52 years after Iran built a 50,000 barrel-per-day refinery near the capital, Colombo, to blend Iran light oils.
Omani oil minister sees prices staying in $65 to $75 range until year-end
Omani oil minister sees prices staying in $65 to $75 range until year-end
- Members of OPEC and other non-OPEC producers agreed to reduce oil supply by 1.2 million barrels per day from Jan. 1 for six months
- Separately, Al-Rumhy said the Oman Oil Co. was conducting a feasibility study regarding taking a 30 percent stake in a new oil refinery project
US allows countries to buy Russian oil stranded at sea for 30 days
- US issues 30-day license for stranded Russian oil purchases
- Measure the latest by Trump administration to calm energy markets jolted by Iran war
The United States issued a 30-day license for countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea in what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said was a step to stabilize global energy markets roiled by the Iran war.
The announcement comes a day after the US Energy Department said that the US would be releasing 172 million barrels of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve in an effort to curb sky-rocketing oil prices in the wake of the war in Iran. That release was part of a broader commitment by the 32-nation International Energy Agency to release 400 million barrels of oil. The agency said earlier on Thursday that he war in the Middle East was creating the biggest oil supply disruption in history. Bessent, in a statement on X released hours after benchmark oil prices shot above $100 a barrel, said the measure was “narrowly tailored” and “short-term” and would not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government.
“The temporary increase in oil prices is a short-term and temporary disruption that will result in a massive benefit to our nation and economy in the long-term,” Bessent said in the statement, echoing President Donald Trump.
Thursday’s license, which authorizes the delivery and sale of Russian crude oil and petroleum products loaded on vessels as of March 12, will remain valid through midnight Washington time on April 11, according to the text of the license posted on the Treasury Department’s website. The US Treasury previously issued a 30-day waiver on March 5 specifically for India, allowing New Delhi to buy Russian oil stuck at sea. Among other measures to tame energy prices, Trump has already ordered the US International Development Finance Corporation to provide political risk insurance and financial guarantees for maritime trade in the Gulf and said the US Navy could escort ships in the region. In another attempt to control prices, the Trump administration is considering temporarily waiving a shipping rule known as the Jones Act to ensure energy and agricultural products can move freely between US ports, the White House said. Waiving the rule would allow foreign ships to carry fuel between US ports, potentially lowering costs and speeding deliveries.
“The president is taking every action he can to lower prices ... unsanctioned oil that’s at sea to get that into the market, continuing to push our own producers to drill and expand production as fast and as far as they can, providing regulatory relief, and you’re going to see more and more in the days to come,” White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told Fox News’ “Primetime” program on Thursday.
There were about 124 million barrels of Russian-origin oil on water across 30 different locations globally as of Thursday, Fox News reported, adding that the US license would provide around five to six days of supply when taking into account the daily loss of oil from the Strait. Trump said earlier on Thursday the United States stood to make significant money from oil prices driven higher by the war, prompting criticism from some lawmakers who accused him of caring only about rich people.
US and Israeli strikes on Iran and the subsequent response by Tehran have widened regional tensions and paralyzed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting vital Middle East oil and gas flows and sending energy prices higher.
Raising the stakes for the global economy, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it will block oil shipments from the Gulf unless the US and Israeli attacks cease.
