Ukraine crisis sends shock waves across energy markets

The whole world is holding its breath waiting for the simmering tensions between Russia and Ukraine to defuse. Among other things, the rising tensions between the two countries have rattled the international energy market, as Russia is a huge energy producer and exporter, and a large percentage of Russian oil and gas pass through Ukraine on the way to their European destinations.

As Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov said, Russia's oil production in 2021 was likely to reach 517 million tons, accounting for 11.7 percent of the global total. Russia also produced 761 billion cubic meters of natural gas last year.

It is clear therefore that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict will deal a heavy blow to the global oil and gas markets. Due to a combination of factors, especially the Russia-Ukraine standoff, global oil and gas prices have risen sharply, with both Brent Crude and Western Texas Intermediate Crude prices topping $90 a barrel.