'All bets are off' if Russia scales back energy output: Whitecap CEO
BNN Bloomberg
As businesses and individuals grapple with soaring energy costs, the situation could become significantly more precarious if Russia were to scale back oil and natural gas production, according to the head of Whitecap Resources.
“If Russia does decide to reduce the amount of production that they do have, that they are putting into the market, then all bets are off,” Grant Fagerheim, Whitecap’s president and chief executive officer, said in an interview Monday.
Russian energy has become a lightning rod for controversy following President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Many European countries that have become dependent on Russian energy have looked to source oil and natural gas from elsewhere, while some parts of the Western world, such as Canada, have implemented boycotts, even though they’re mostly symbolic.
This disruption, coupled with demand far outpacing global supply, has driven the price of American benchmark West Texas Intermediate to largely trade above the US$100 per barrel since March.