‘Not our war’: Gulf states resist pressure to raise oil output

The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude crude topped $115 on Thursday, the highest since 2008. Oil-rich Gulf monarchies have so far resisted Western pressure to raise output, prioritizing their own strategic and economic interests. Russia is the world’s second biggest crude exporter after Saudi Arabia, which is close to Western governments but also to Moscow. The last time Saudi Arabia and Russia clashed over production quotas, it led to a price war and a collapse of prices, an analyst says. If the barrel stays above $100, this will mean that none of the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries will face a budget deficit by 2022, a researcher says. The International Energy Agency announced Tuesday that member countries would release 60 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves to stabilise global markets. . . .