About 14 million barrels of crude oil and refined petroleum products are being shipped out of the Middle East each day, helping to prevent a bigger rise in global oil prices, Vitol CEO Russell Hardy has said.

Hardy said the shipments have become important to the global oil market as countries enter the winter period and oil stocks in Western countries remain low.

According to him, about 12 million barrels per day of crude oil and two million barrels per day of refined products have left the region over the past seven to 10 days.

He warned that a major disruption to these supplies could push oil prices as high as $200 per barrel.

Hardy, speaking at the Energy Intelligence Forum in London, said the oil market had faced several supply challenges this year, with disruptions moving from crude oil production to refined products and now transportation.

He also raised concerns over the sharp increase in shipping costs, saying the higher cost of transporting oil was creating uncertainty for traders and other market participants.

Developing countries in Asia are particularly exposed to the supply pressure because many depend heavily on oil from the Middle East and have limited reserves to fall back on when supplies are disrupted.

Hardy said the global market was also facing a shortage of refined petroleum products, which could continue through the winter.

He linked the tighter market to disruptions affecting Russian refining facilities and reduced refinery operations in the Middle East.

To ease the pressure, the G7 countries agreed to release 100 million barrels of crude oil and diesel from strategic reserves through the International Energy Agency.

Hardy said the diesel release could offer some relief to European markets, although more details were still needed on how much crude and diesel would be released and where the supplies would come from.

Brent crude was trading at about $98 per barrel, while European diesel prices remained significantly higher than crude prices.