(Bloomberg) -- West Texas Intermediate crude futures hit $80 a barrel for the first time since November 2014 as a global energy crisis boosts demand and OPEC+ keeps supplies tight.

The benchmark’s surge above the key level comes after the U.S. Energy Department said that it had no plans “at this time” to tap the nation’s oil reserves, cooling fears that the rally would be tempered with emergency supply.

That comments came after Saudi Arabia and its partners opted to only modestly increase output in November. Many analysts had expected OPEC+ to deliver a bigger hike as the surge in natural gas prices looks set to cause a spike in oil demand this winter. 

West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery advanced $1.75 to $80.05 a barrel at 10:09 a.m. in New York. 

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