Self-sanctioning amid a global backlash against Russia has left analysts dividend in their forecasts for the future of Russian oil. OPEC+ and the U.S. Energy Information Administration are the most bullish on Russian crude outlook. The IEA and Standard Chartered are less optimistic, however. It’s exactly one month since Russia invaded Ukraine, and the oil markets remain as volatile as ever with little clarity as to how direct and self-sanctions will impact Russian crude output as well as global oil demand. After the volatility-induced speculative unwind, which caused the 30% price fall from the 7 March high, oil prices have moved sharply higher over the past week. Front-month Brent settled at $115.62 per barrel (bbl) on 21 March, a w/w increase of $8.72/bbl and $18.69/bbl above the 16 March intra-day low. The value of the OPEC basket rose by $3.17/bbl w/w to $113.84/bbl and by EUR 2.18/bbl to EUR […]