Could Middle East nations come to the rescue as the Ukraine war drives up oil prices?

Could Middle East nations come to the rescue as the Ukraine war drives up oil prices?

Abu Dhabi, UAE (CNN) – A bombshell announcement by a United Arab Emirates diplomat on Wednesday raised hopes that Gulf oil producers might come to the rescue as oil prices climbed to an eight-year high on Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE ambassador in the United States, told CNN his country favors an oil output hike. It was the first indication from a member of the OPEC+ cartel of oil producers that a supply increase beyond what was agreed by the group could be considered. OPEC+ had refused to budge from its current plan to gradually ramp up output.

OPEC+ is a group of 23 oil producing countries, including Russia, that coordinates oil policies which have a role in determining prices on the market.

Western nations have placed sanctions on Moscow’s energy exports in response to its invasion of Ukraine. That could lead Russia’s seaborne oil exports to shrink to a third of their level before the invasion, estimated Energy Intelligence, an energy information company. The move could potentially drive the price of a barrel even higher as the West grapples with high inflation.

The Gulf nations of UAE and Saudi Arabia are the only countries in OPEC+ with enough spare