Table of Contents
On Friday, January 12, 2024, the Brent crude oil price per barrel experienced a 2.3% increase, reaching $79 per barrel.
Global crude oil prices showed Brent crude oil price trading at $79.22 per barrel. The surge in Brent crude oil and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prices was attributed to U.S. and British airstrikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen. This retaliatory action followed attacks by the Iran-backed group on shipping in the Red Sea since late last year.
Join our Telegram Channel for Updates
Reuters highlighted the airstrikes as a significant escalation in the Israel-Hamas conflict, ongoing since October, with widespread explosions reported in Yemen. U.S. President Joe Biden emphasized that the strikes were a clear message against attacks on personnel and threats to freedom of navigation, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands.
The Red Sea disturbances caused by Houthi assaults disrupted approximately 15% of the world’s maritime traffic along the vital Europe-Asia route. Maersk, a major shipping company, redirected all vessels away from the Red Sea indefinitely due to these disruptions.
In addition to the geopolitical tensions, recent events include Iran seizing a tanker carrying Iraqi crude bound for Turkey, seen as retaliation for a similar incident involving the U.S. last year. The Houthis attacks focused on the Bab al-Mandab Strait, while Iran’s seizure occurred near the Strait of Hormuz.
CHECK: SHIB, SPONGE, and FLOKI: Top Meme Coins Investors Watch in 2024
A Bloomberg survey revealed that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) maintained a steady crude oil production in December 2023, with Nigeria increasing output by an additional 50,000 barrels per day (bpd). OPEC+ implemented supply restraints, with some countries reducing production and others compensating, as seen in Nigeria’s daily oil production of 1.25 million barrels.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) reported the country’s daily oil production and projected an increase to 1.5 million bpd in 2024, while the federal government believed production could reach 2 million bpd. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern nations adhered to production cuts, contributing to OPEC+’s overall reduction of 2.2 million bpd for Q1 2024.
