The sanctioning of two OPEC members by the Trump administration has caused some ripples in the oil market, but not the type of shortages or pain for consumers that might have occurred.
She said 1.6 million barrels a day have been removed from the market, and President Donald Trump could choose to remove even more from Iran's exports when waivers come up for renewal in May.India, for instance, is purchasing about 300,000 barrels a day from Iran and is seeking to extend its waiver, according to Reuters.
The United States has recognized Juan Guaido, president of the Assembly, who declared himself Venezuela's president six weeks ago. Yergin said Venezuela's oil operations had been deteriorating so much under Maduro that they had already become much less important to world supply, even though Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves."The Maduro regime has been committing oil suicide," said Yergin.
Brazil and Iraq are also expected to put more heavy crude barrels onto the market, and Canada could release more shipments of Alberta crude to the U.S. if prices remain high enough to make it economically feasible. Alberta crude comes into the U.S. by rail.