Oil highest since 2014 as Turkey outage adds to tight supply outlook

Shafaq News / Oil prices rose for a fourth day on Wednesday as an outage on a pipeline from Iraq to Turkey increased concerns about an already tight supply outlook amid worrisome geopolitical troubles in Russia and the United Arab Emirates.

Brent crude futures rose 87 cents, or 1%, to $88.38 a barrel at 0543 GMT, adding to a 1.2% jump in the previous session. The benchmark contract climbed to as much as $89.05, its highest since Oct. 13, 2014.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed $1.03, or 1.2%, to $86.46 a barrel, adding to a 1.9% gain on Tuesday. WTI earlier jumped to a high of $87.08, its highest since Oct. 9, 2014.

Turkey's state pipeline operator said it put out a blaze following an explosion that cut oil flow at the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, adding that it would be operational "as soon as possible". The cause of the explosion is not known.

The pipeline carries crude out of Iraq, the second-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), to the Turkish port of Ceyhan for export.

The loss comes as analysts are forecasting tight oil supply in 2022, driven in part by demand holding up much better than expected as the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant spreads, with some predicting the return of $100 oil.

Source: Reuters