Oil prices were heading towards a weekly drop on 27 March after US President Donald Trump prolonged a temporary halt on attacks targeting Iran’s energy facilities for an additional ten days.
However, investors remained cautious as a swift resolution to the conflict appeared improbable, reported Reuters.
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As of 06:08 GMT, Brent crude futures had decreased by $0.04 to reach $107.97 per barrel (bbl), while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures saw a decline of $0.4, bringing the price to $94.08/bbl.
Since late February, when the US and Israel initiated strikes on Iran, WTI futures had surged by 40% but declined by 4.6% this week.
The price of Brent, which had increased by more than 48% since the conflict began, slipped 4% for the week.
The ongoing conflict has removed 11 million barrels per day (mbbl/d) of oil from global supplies, with the International Energy Agency noting that the crisis is more severe than the oil shocks of the 1970s and the Russia-Ukraine gas war combined.
Amidst these tensions, Iran has rejected a US proposal conveyed by Pakistan, calling it “one-sided and unfair”, according to an Iranian official speaking to Reuters.
Meanwhile, US military presence in the Middle East has increased, with President Trump considering deploying ground forces to seize Iran’s oil hub on Kharg Island.
The global energy market faces further complications due to natural disruptions in Western Australia.
Tropical cyclone Narelle has impacted operations at Chevron’s and Woodside’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, Reuters reported.
Chevron disclosed efforts to resume production at its Gorgon and Wheatstone plants after the cyclone caused outages. Gorgon is said to be Australia’s largest LNG export operation.
Woodside reported similar disruptions at its Karratha gas plant, part of Australia’s second-largest LNG project.
Production at Karratha has been reduced from 16.9 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 14.3mtpa after one of the five production trains was halted.
The company anticipates lower production guidance for 2026 due to downtime at its Pluto LNG facility, compared to record output in 2025.
