Volatile Oil Prices Break $130 per Barrel Mark as Sanctions Loom

Oil prices rose dramatically to $130 per barrel this weekend before settling around $120 per barrel on Monday morning, as markets assimilate the effect of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on exports.

Though Russian energy products do not fall under western sanctions many buyers, such as US importer Monroe Energy, Portuguese energy group Galp and Finland’s Neste, have started to seek supplies elsewhere, as reported by Oilprice.com.

Reluctance of energy companies to deal with Russia has also led to oil majors BP, Shell and Exxon Mobil announcing they would be divesting from their Russian assets in the past week, leading to further uncertainty about global supplies.

Analysts have said oil prices could well rise to $150 per barrel in the wake of the conflict as drops in Russian exports impact an already tight oil market.

Exports of crude and refined product from Russia, the world’s second largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia, have dropped by 2.5 million barrels per day in the first week of the Ukraine invasion.