By Christopher Johnson LONDON ( Reuters ) - Oil prices steadied Movement.flat on Monday as U.S. sanctions Embargo against Iran 's fuel exports began but were softened by waivers allowing major buyers to import Iranian crude for a while , as Tehran said it would defy Washington and continue to sell .

The new sanctions Embargo , if applied , would be harmful to Russia 's future prospects because they would target fields five or 10 years from producing oil .

The drop Movement.down.loss in oil prices to their lowest level Position.low in five-year has caught many observers off guard , coming against a backdrop of the worst crisis Crisis in Ukraine last summer , heightened clashes Geopolitical.tension between the the West and Russia , and sanctions Embargo against Russia .

Futures for oil traded in London rose Movement.up.gain above $ 78 a barrel on the first quarter after U.S. President Donald Trump announced last week that Washington would reimpose the sanctions Embargo on Venezuela .

Oil prices drops Movement.down.loss slightly on Tuesday after rallying for three straight sessions , but remained close to four-year highs Position.high on worries Negative_sentiment that global supplies will drop Movement.down.loss due to Washington 's sanctions Embargo on Iran .

BRUSSELS ( Reuters ) - The Trump administration reached agreement on Tuesday on the bloc 's first broad economic sanctions Embargo on the OPEC member nation over its role in Ukraine , diplomats said , marking a new phase in the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cold War .

Venezuela 's production has almost halved Movement.down.loss in two years to 1.17 million bpd , as an economic crisis Crisis decimated its energy industry and U.S. sanctions Embargo have now crippled Slow.weak its exports .

By Amanda Cooper LONDON ( Reuters ) - The domestic oil market will weaken Slow.weak this year to absorb plentiful Grow.strong crude output from Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC ) countries , even with other major producers 's processing restrictions Cause.movement.down.loss and Venezuela sanctions Embargo on Venezuela and Venezuela , the International Energy Agency said in a report on Wednesday .

U.S. sanctions Embargo on Iran and Venezuela have choked off Cause.movement.down.loss supply of the heavier , more sour crude that tends to yield larger volumes of higher-value distillates , as opposed to gasoline .

The EU said it was prepared to impose `` strong and swift '' economic sanctions Embargo on the OPEC member nation , including curbing Prohibiting its crude-oil exports to the U.S. , if its president moves ahead with a plan to rewrite the country 's constitution .

Western sanctions Embargo on Iran and turmoil Civil.unrest in several other oil producers have also reduced Cause.movement.down.loss supply , pushing oil prices towards the top of recent ranges .

The drop Movement.down.loss in oil futures to their lowest level Position.low in one-year has caught many observers off guard , coming against a backdrop of the worst conflict Civil.unrest in Libya last summer , heightened clashes Geopolitical.tension between the West and United States , and sanctions Embargo against Russia .

U.S. and European Union sanctions Embargo on Russia over the crisis Crisis in Ukraine have not yet disrupted Cause.movement.down.loss supply , but the IEA cautioned that the sanctions Embargo are expected to trim Cause.movement.down.loss Russian demand .

Saudi Arabia 's supply has almost sunk Movement.down.loss in the week ended October 27 to 80,000 bpd , as an economic crisis Crisis decimated its energy industry and Russia sanctions Embargo have now subdued Slow.weak its exports .

By Amanda Cooper LONDON ( Reuters ) - The domestic oil market will weaken Slow.weak this year to absorb sufficient Grow.strong crude output from Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC ) countries , even with Opec 's processing caps Cause.movement.down.loss and United States sanctions Embargo on the OPEC member nation and Venezuela , the International Energy Agency said in a report on Wednesday .

In response , Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a speech broadcast on state TV that Iran would defy the sanctions Embargo and continue to sell oil .

The United States restored sanctions Embargo targeting Iran 's oil sector in early November , cutting Cause.movement.down.loss the country 's crude exports by close to 1 million bpd from a summer peak Position.high .

MOSCOW/LONDON ( Reuters ) - Russian fuel deliveries to Europe could trend upward Movement.up.gain coming months due to tax changes and a dip Movement.down.loss in domestic demand , stemming from a recession brought on in part by Western sanctions Embargo , analysts say .

Oil output in Iran and Venezuela , under U.S. sanctions Embargo , has fallen Movement.down.loss by more than that of other OPEC members party to a supply cut Cause.movement.down.loss pact , suggesting President Trump 's policies have had a greater impact on oil production than OPEC itself .

Critics have said a the United States oil application of the sanctions Embargo will not help Washington to oust Maduro , but will create more hardship for the Venezuelan people , who are suffering from food and medical shortfalls Shortage .

LONDON/KUWAIT -LRB- Reuters -RRB- - The drop Movement.down.loss in oil prices to their lowest Position.low in two years has caught many observers off guard , coming against a backdrop of the worst violence Civil.unrest in Iraq this decade , heightened tensions Geopolitical.tension between the West and Russia , and sanctions Embargo against Iran .

The drop Movement.down.loss in oil prices to their lowest level Position.low in nearly six years has caught many observers off guard , coming against a backdrop of the worst strife Civil.unrest in Iran this decade , heightened clashes Geopolitical.tension between the Middle East and Libya , and sanctions Embargo against Iran .

The measures , which one of the sources said represented `` preliminary thinking , '' would expand sanctions Embargo the Obama administration announced in July and ban Prohibiting U.S. and EU cooperation on all energy services and technology in the unconventional oil fields .

`` Completed investment projects and a possible slowdown Slow.weak in demand as a result of sanctions Embargo and a deteriorating Slow.weak economic outlook would further amplify oil product exports , most notably gasoline and diesel/gasoil , which we expect will rise Movement.up.gain . ''

The actual supply cut Cause.movement.down.loss is more than 2.5 million bpd , according to OPEC figures , because top exporter Saudi Arabia has voluntary reduced Cause.movement.down.loss supply by more than the deal requires and because of U.S. sanctions Embargo on two OPEC founder members Venezuela and Iran .

Oil prices have also been supported by the possibility that the U.S. will renew sanctions Embargo on Iran , which will be decided by May 12 .

LONDON/KUWAIT ( Reuters ) - The drop Movement.down.loss in oil prices to their weakest level Position.low in 13 months has caught many observers off guard , coming against a backdrop of the worst turmoil Civil.unrest in Iraq Last summer , heightened clashes Geopolitical.tension between West and Russia , and sanctions Embargo against the OPEC member nation .

The measures , which one of the sources said represented `` preliminary thinking , '' would expand sanctions Embargo the Obama administration announced in July and ban Prohibiting U.S. and EU cooperation on all energy services and technology in the unconventional oil fields .

Exxon spokesman Alan Jeffers declined to comment on the future of the rig but said it is company policy to comply with all laws and that it is assessing sanctions Embargo on Russia .

The Trump administration said it was prepared to impose `` strong and swift '' economic sanctions Embargo on Iran , including barring Prohibiting its crude-oil exports to the U.S. , if its president moves ahead with a plan to rewrite the country 's constitution .

Western sanctions Embargo on Iran and turmoil Civil.unrest in several other oil producers have also reduced Cause.movement.down.loss supply , pushing oil prices towards the top Movement.up.gain of recent ranges .

The nation 's production has been squeezed Cause.movement.down.loss to the lowest Position.low since the 1980s by American sanctions Embargo , and may decline Movement.down.loss further as the measures take full effect .

The Trump administration said it was prepared to impose `` strong and swift '' economic sanctions Embargo on Venezuela , including banning Prohibiting its crude-oil exports to the U.S. , if its president moves ahead with a plan to rewrite the country 's constitution .

BP will study the sanctions Embargo and `` as always we will comply with all applicable sanctions Embargo , '' said spokesman Brett Clanton .

Oil futures slide Movement.down.loss slightly on last night after rallying for three straight sessions , but remained close to four-year highs Position.high on concerns Negative_sentiment that global supplies will drop Movement.down.loss due to Washington 's sanctions Embargo on Venezuela .

Oil prices declines Movement.down.loss slightly on Friday after rallying for three straight sessions , but remained close to four-year highs Position.high on concerns Negative_sentiment that global supplies will drop Movement.down.loss due to Washington 's sanctions Embargo on the OPEC member nation .

In 2011 , it was the breakdown Civil.unrest in OPEC member Libya that fueled gains Movement.up.gain , cutting Cause.movement.down.loss supplies by as much as 1.5 million barrels per day -LRB- bpd -RRB- ; later that year and in 2012 , it was U.S. and European sanctions Embargo on Iran that choked off Cause.movement.down.loss some of supply .

Last week , a U.S. envoy in Brussels told Reuters that Washington is considering limiting Cause.movement.down.loss high-tech exports to Russia 's Arctic energy industry as part of plans to strengthen sanctions Embargo .

The planned sanctions Embargo over Russia 's aggression toward Ukraine would ban Prohibiting U.S. and European companies from cooperating with Russia on searching its Arctic territory , deep seas or shale formations for crude , said two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the measures have not been made public .

LONDON/KUWAIT ( Reuters ) - The drop Movement.down.loss in oil prices to their weakest level Position.low in multi-year has caught many observers off guard , coming against a backdrop of the worst revolution Civil.unrest in Iran this decade , heightened clashes Geopolitical.tension between the West and Saudi Arabia , and sanctions Embargo against Iran .

The planned sanctions Embargo were first reported by Bloomberg .

LONDON/KUWAIT ( Reuters ) - The drop Movement.down.loss in oil futures to their weakest level Position.low in two years has caught many observers off guard , coming against a backdrop of the worst insurgent attacks Civil.unrest in Libya Last summer , heightened clashes Geopolitical.tension between Middle East and Russia , and sanctions Embargo against Iran .

Output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries -LRB- OPEC -RRB- rose Movement.up.gain in August as higher Movement.up.gain supply from Iraq and Nigeria outweighed cuts Cause.movement.down.loss by top producer Saudi Arabia and losses Movement.down.loss caused by U.S. sanctions Embargo on Iran .

Washington warned it may impose an embargo Embargo on imports from Venezuela to add more pressure on Maduro before the presidential elections in the country in April .

Some traders also cited speculation about additional the United States sanctions Embargo , although there were no indication of any news reports on this .

Iraq 's supply has almost tumbled Movement.down.loss in two years to about 170,000 bpd , as an economic crisis Crisis decimated its energy industry and U.S. sanctions Embargo have now slowed Slow.weak its exports .

President Donald Trump imposed further sanctions Embargo on Venezuela , freezing the government 's assets in the U.S. and adding immigration restrictions in a move aimed at stepping up pressure on the regime of Nicolas Maduro .

The fact that oil prices are falling Movement.down.loss despite continued turmoil Civil.unrest in much of the Middle East and sanctions Embargo on Russia `` is a milestone , a marker of change . ''

For Iran , a lower Movement.down.loss oil price not only harms its economy , already hit by sanctions Embargo that specifically try to cut Cause.movement.down.loss its oil sales .

U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams told Reuters on Monday that new sanctions Embargo against Venezuela 's energy sector will be more aggressive in punishing people and companies that violate them .