The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $113.54 a barrel

Brent rose 42 cents, or 0.4%, to $113.54 a barrel, WTI was at $109.85 a barrel, up 29 cents, or 0.3%.

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $118.97 a barrel

Non-sanctioning countries including India and China have significantly increased imports of Russian oil since the invasion began Feb. 24, taking advantage of major price discounts.

Crude imports rose 55% from a year ago to 8.42 million tons, with Russia overtaking Saudi Arabia as China’s main source of oil, according to customs data released on Monday.

Supply is likely to remain curbed with Gazprom PJSC’s chief Alexey Miller warning there’s no solution for now for issues with the gas turbines essential for the functioning of the pipeline.

Just when it didn’t seem things couldn’t get worse — gasoline at $5 to $8 a gallon, supply shortages in everything from baby formula to new cars — comes the devastating news that many of us will endure electricity blackouts this summer.

U.S. Rig Count is up 7 from last week to 740, Canada Rig Count is up 15 from last week to 156.

Brent was up $1.13, or 0.9%, to $120.94 a barrel, WTI gained $1.03, or 0.9%, to $118.62.

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $119.24 a barrel

Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman met Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak on Thursday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, a flagship conference that almost all Western officials and business executives are avoiding this year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In the worst-case scenario where the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany is shut totally, Europe will fail to reach storage levels the European Union has ordered by the start of the heating season in November. And the region could run out of stocks completely by January.

Eni SpA will receive just half of its requested gas volumes from Russia’s Gazprom PJSC on Friday, compared with about two-thirds the previous day.

Asian buyers will also be competing directly with European LNG importers looking to meet an EU target of filling gas storage to 80% of capacity by Nov. 1.

The surge in electricity supply did little to ease rising prices that are being driven higher by climbing gas costs as Russia cuts some flows to Europe.