This is How the Attempted Coup in Turkey May Affect Global Oil Market

A military coup attempt in Turkey may have a negative impact on the global crude market since the country is a major energy-trade route, an article in The Financial Times read.

Turkey has an important strategic position for oil transit routes from the Middle East, Central Asia and Russia to European markets.

"Any uncertainty in that region almost invariably results in an increase in oil prices, particularly given the interaction between what goes on in Turkey with Syria," Craig Pirrong, director of the Global Energy Management Institute at the University of Houston’s Bauer College of Business, told Bloomberg.

Nearly 2.9 million barrels of oil or three percent of global supplies, were transported through the Turkish Straits, including the Bosporus and Dardanelles, in 2013, according to data from the United States Energy Information Administration.

Earlier on the day, Reuters reported that Turkey has closed Bosporus to oil shipping tankers due to "security and safety reasons."

However, an official at the Istanbul-based shipping center said both straits are open and shipping traffic has not been disrupted according to Bloomberg.

The closure of Bosporus would have minimum impact on Russian oil deliveries, Valeriy Nesterov, an analyst at Sberbank CIB, told RIA Novosti.

"Russia exports 10-15 percent of its oil and petroleum product via the Black Sea, the port of Novorossiysk. If the strait is closed for one, two or three days it’s not a problem. It has happened before due to weather conditions," he said.

The expert added that Russia’s Transneft could also use alternative routes for oil shipments.

Turkey has also two major pipelines, one from Azerbaijan and another from Iraq, which both come to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean. They have a combined capacity of 2.7 million barrels a day, according to The Financial Times.

The flow to Ceyhan has not been disrupted, Bloomberg reported citing an official at the Turkish Energy Ministry.

Members of Turkey's armed forces on Friday night tried to stage a military coup. After hours of clashes, the Turkish government said the attempted coup was quelled. At least 90 people have been killed in the clashes, with over 1,100 wounded.

Oil prices extended gains in post-settlement trading on Friday after Turkey’s armed forces attempted to stage a coup. Brent added one percent, to $48.09 a barrel. WTI rose nearly 0.7 percent, to $46.28 a barrel.