Oil prices rose today, pushed higher by sabotage attacks that knocked out Iraq's crude exports and the assassination of a senior official running the country's northern oilfields.
A call by the head of OPEC for producers outside the cartel to raise global supplies to cool prices was rebuffed by Russia, which said it had no spare capacity to boost supplies.
US light crude climbed 26 cents to $37.45 a barrel, while London's Brent crude rose 27 cents to $35.30 a barrel.
"Iraq's exports were about 1.6 million barrels a day, that's what I guess the world's spare capacity to be at the moment. So there's no fat left, there's no room for error, accident or more attacks," said Mr David Thurtell at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Iraqi crude exports ground to a halt after a sabotage attacks this week on pipelines in the north and south of the country that feed Iraq's only export terminals.
"There are no exports from Basra oil terminal or Khor al-Amaya and it is unclear when they will restart," an Iraq oil official said. "Both pipelines feeding the terminals have been destroyed."
Iraq was exporting more than 1.6 million barrels daily from the southern ports, most of which was loaded at the Basra terminal. Sabotage was also blamed for an explosion yesterday at a pipeline in the northern Kirkuk oilfields.
In another blow, Iraqi police said today that gunmen killed Ghazi Talabani, a senior official in Iraq's North Oil Company.
Fears that militants will strike at oil facilities in the Middle East have helped stoke high prices this year. Robust economic growth and strong oil demand, especially in the United States and China, have left little room in the supply chain for any disruption.