The Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX: WPL) share price is up 2.75% at time of writing, to $23.20 per share.
The healthy gains come as the wider S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is struggling in morning trade, down 0.1%.
With no fresh news out from the company today, the Woodside share price looks to be enjoying some tailwinds from the bump in crude oil prices over the weekend.
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What's happening in oil markets to impact the Woodside share price?
Last Friday, Aussie time, Brent crude oil was trading for US$80.54 per barrel. Today, that same barrel is worth US$83.03, up 3.1% over the weekend. That's obviously good news for the Woodside share price.
Oil's price gains came after last Thursday's declaration by OEPC+, which includes Russia, that the organisation was sticking with its plans to only modestly increase oil output by 400,000 barrels per month.
That's less than the forecast increase in demand for oil, as the world gears back up from its pandemic sabbatical. And that's putting upward pressure on prices.
And OPEC isn't likely to shift its position anytime soon.
On Friday, Saudi Aramco increased its December official selling price (OSP) to European, Asian and United States customers in its third-largest month-on-month price increase in more than 20 years, according to Bloomberg.
And Mike Muller, head of Asia for oil trading giant Vitol, doesn't see that changing anytime soon. Muller said (quoted by Bloomberg), "They are unlikely to change stance."
Addressing the much higher than expected increase in Saudi Aramco's OSP, Muller added, "That was a signal to those that were critiquing OPEC+ for not putting enough oil on the market. The Saudis felt they can indeed make higher prices stick."
A whole lot of moving parts
Of course, forecasting the future price of crude oil involves accurately predicting how countless moving parts will all come together.
Potentially putting downward pressure on crude prices, United States President Joe Biden is eyeing the nation's 600 million barrels of oil stored in its strategic petroleum reserve (SPR). If the US decides to release some of the oil, it could ease the supply crunch. At least in the short run.
Though, according to Muller, that may already be largely priced into the market. "The market does seem to have an expectation that there'll be some form of SPR release," he said.
Woodside share price snapshot
The Woodside share price has gained 27% over the past 12 months. By comparison, the ASX 200 is up 20% in that same time.
Over the past month, Woodside shares are down 7.5%.
