By Marianna Parraga

HOUSTON (Reuters] -OPEC does not have control over events leading to an increase in oil prices. There is no global supply to offset the Russian loss, Mohammad Barkindo, Secretary General of OPEC said Monday.

On Monday, benchmark prices soared to a new high of $139 per barrel after the United States and its European allies considered banning Russian oil imports in response to Russia’s invasion. [O/R]

Russia is the largest exporter of oil and crude fuel in the world, with 7 million barrels per day or 7% of all global supply.

Barkindo said that 7,000,000 barrels per hour is impossible to replace at the global level, as he stated this in Houston during an industry conference.

“We don’t have control over geopolitics and current events. This is setting the pace for the market,” he stated.

U.S., European, and other countries exempted energy trade sanctions in order to stop already tight markets from rallying further. However, that was a failure.

To avoid future sanctions, traders have avoided Russian oil.

Some analysts believe that prices may soar even further if the ban is lifted. JPMorgan (NYSE) predicts Brent will reach $185 in the next year. In order to reduce demand, prices would need to increase enough to meet a shortage of supply.

Barkindo stated, “I heard several speakers at CERAweek say that the current market conditions are tightening might cause some destruction of demand.”

While that may be true, it is not the only important aspect of the equation. Supply is becoming more behind.

Barkindo explained to Reuters that the oil market situation had improved since March 2nd when he was asked by Reuters why the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its alliances didn’t just lift all production restrictions at last week’s meeting.

“Let’s wait and see at the next meeting,” said he.

OPEC+ and its allies, led by Russia, stated after the meeting that they believed markets were balanced. OPEC+ sources confirmed that on Monday.

Barkindo indicated that OPEC+ remained committed market stability. He said that the group was continuing to undo the severe cuts made at the peak of the pandemic. He stated that production should have been fully restored after September’s cuts.

OPEC+ remained faithful to the plan of a slight increase in output in April during the March 2 meetings and ignored the Ukraine crisis.

Barkindo stated that the market situation was likely to change the course of the energy transition.

According to him, accessing capital to the oil industry is more difficult, however, the crisis shows that the world cannot afford to not continue investing in oil.

According to International Energy Agency, most OPEC+ member countries have very little oil production capacity. The bulk of extra capacity is located in the Gulf States of Saudi Arabia, UAE and United Arab Emirates.