Brent Crude Oil Futures Hit 15-Month High Despite Fears of War in Iraq, Venezuela Strike

European benchmark Brent crude oil futures rose to a 15-month high of $30.70 a barrel Monday amid growing fears of a U.S. attack on Iraq and a continuing general strike in Venezuela.

"At the end of the day, it is pretty much as it has been for the past month the two driving factors being Iraq and Venezuela," said Orrin Middleton, oil analyst at Barclays Capital.

Two U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups, each with about 10,000 sailors and Marines, are within striking distance of Iraq. Two others were ordered last week to prepare for departure on 96 hours' notice, as were two amphibious warfare groups.

Meanwhile, oil exports from Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil producer, have plummeted to 340,000 barrels a day from 2.3 million barrels a day due to a crippling four-week strike.

At 12:52 GMT, Brent crude for February delivery was up 49 cents at $30.65 a barrel. The Brent crude price is not far off the Sept. 11, 2001 high of $31.05 a barrel.

Monday also saw highs in early electronic trade of U.S. crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange. February crude hit a new two-year high of $33.17 a barrel after smashing through the psychological barrier of $33 a barrel.

Over the weekend, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheik Ahmed Fahd Al Ahmed Al Sabah said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would consider meeting to discuss hiking output if oil prices remain high for a prolonged period, The Times of London reported Monday.

"I can assure you that OPEC will meet if the price stays high," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

Under OPEC's output mechanism, an increase in production can be triggered if the price of its benchmark basket of crudes remains over $22-$28 a barrel for 20 consecutive days.

The basket price has been above $28 a barrel for nine consecutive trading days.