U.S.-Russia Rift Over Ukraine Could Spark $100 Oil, Yergin Says

(Bloomberg) -- Further escalation in U.S.-Russia tensions over Ukraine could send oil prices to $100 a barrel as the rift between the two oil-producing world powers would widen, according to oil historian Daniel Yergin. 

Increased tension could trigger “a panicky reaction in the market,” Yergin said in an interview on Bloomberg Television's “Balance of Power With David Westin.”

U.S. shale drillers have been ramping up output and that's serving as a great stabilizer in the market, Yergin said. “Oil and gas production in the United States is a great geopolitical asset.” 

Meanwhile, OPEC and its allies announced a decision to boost the group's oil production goal for March by the expected amount of 400,000 barrels a day, even as some of its members are struggling to fulfill the current target.

Yergin believes OPEC had “no choice” but to increase output, but that the group will not be able to reach the new proposed target.

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