OPEC told the European Union that current and future sanctions against Russia could lead to one of the worst shocks in oil supplies and it will be impossible to replace these volumes, while the oil cartel has signaled that it will not increase yields, Reuters reported.

Representatives of the European Union held talks in Vienna on Monday with representatives of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in response to calls for the group to increase production amid the EU's consideration of potential sanctions against Russian oil.

“We could potentially see a loss of more than 7 million barrels a day from exports of Russian oil and other petroleum distillates as a result of current and future sanctions or other voluntary actions,” said OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo, reports Reuters quoting a copy of his speech.

“Given the current outlook for oil demand, it would be almost impossible to replace the loss in volumes of this magnitude,” he added.

At yesterday's meeting, the EU reiterated its call on oil-producing countries to consider whether they could increase supplies to help curb rising prices of the “black gold”, a European Commission spokesman told Reuters.

EU officials who attended the meeting also said OPEC has a responsibility to ensure balanced oil markets, the European official added.

OPEC has repeatedly opposed calls from the United States and the International Energy Agency to pump more crude oil to curb prices, which peaked 14 years earlier last month after Washington and Brussels began imposing sanctions on Moscow over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

At today's meeting with OPEC, EU representatives said the cartel could provide more production than its spare capacity. However, Barkindo said the current highly volatile market was the result of “non-fundamental factors” beyond OPEC's control, which was interpreted as a signal that the group would not increase its yields.

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