Sonali Paul

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Friday, following wild swings throughout the week. The prospect of Iran supplying more oil to the market outweighed the fears that Russia might invade Ukraine and disrupt supplies.

Brent crude futures plunged 68 cents (or 0.7%) to $92.29/barrel at 0124 GMT. That’s an additional 1.9% decrease from the previous session.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate’s crude futures dropped 0.7% or 67 Cents to $91.09/barrel after dropping 2% the previous session.

Following their peak in September 2014 at their highest point, the benchmark contracts are headed for their first weekly decline in nine weeks. There is a plan to revive Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Diplomats stated that the draft accord describes a series of steps that could eventually lead to oil sanctions waivers. This would allow the return of approximately 1,000,000 barrels per day of oil to the market. However, the timing is not clear.

“But, the spectre that 1 million b/d could hit the oil market saw prices fall,” ANZ Research analysts stated in a note.

Analysts don’t anticipate prices falling much in the immediate term, despite the potential return of Iranian oil and the struggle of OPEC+ (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) to reach their production targets.

“Oil markets are vulnerable to supply disruptions given global oil stockpiles are tracking near seven‑year lows and as OPEC+ spare capacity comes into question given disappointing OPEC+ supply growth,” Commonwealth Bank (CBA) analyst Vivek Dhar said in a note.

CBA believes Brent will remain in the $90-100 per barrel area in the near term, with air travel and traffic picking up. It could rise to $100 “quite easily” in the future if tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalate.

The U.S. President Joe Biden will host an international conference on Friday about the Ukraine crisis, with leaders from Canada, France and Germany.