The UAE is set to encourage fellow OPEC nations to increase oil production levels given that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has pushed crude oil prices to their highest level in more than ten years, a senior official said on Wednesday, according to the Financial Times. In a statement to the UK financial journal, Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE’s ambassador to Washington, said that “we favour production increases and will be encouraging Opec to consider higher production levels”.
“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 continued. The UAE becomes the first major OPEC nation to call for higher output since the invasion of Ukraine.
Market Reaction
Front-month WTI futures have slid back to lows of the day in the $116/barrel area in wake of the news.