Trouble in Iraq Pushes Oil Prices Higher

Crude oil prices have been on the increase in recent weeks, with concerns over disruption in supply driving up some international benchmarks to as high as $115 a barrel.

On Wednesday, militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) renewed attacks on Iraq's largest oil refinery at Baiji - forcing its closure and stoking fears over oil exports as some firms pulled foreign oil workers out of the country.

While all of Baiji's estimated output capacity of 320,000 barrels a day - a quarter of Iraq's refining capacity - has until now been used domestically, a prolonged shutdown could force the country to start importing oil and cut into global supplies.

Copyright, Gulf Daily News. 2014.