LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Wednesday after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates announced plans to boost production capacity and the coronavirus fed worries about demand.
FILE PHOTO: Pump jacks operate in front of a drilling rig in an oil field in Midland, Texas U.S. August 22, 2018. Picture taken August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Nick Oxford/File Photo
Brent crude was down $1.09 or almost 3% to $36.13 per barrel by 1221 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was off $1.06 or 3.1% at $33.30.
With the collapse of coordinated output cuts by Saudi Arabia, Russia and others, the Saudi energy ministry has directed producer Saudi Aramco to raise its output capacity to 13 million from 12 million barrels per day (bpd).
UAE national oil company ADNOC also it would raise crude supply to more than 4 million bpd in April and accelerate plans to boost its output capacity to 5 million bpd, a target it previously planned to achieve by 2030.
“Saudi’s shock and awe strategy suggests to us that to bring Russia back