Brent Inches Near $100 Over Fresh Oil Tankers Attack
Oil prices surged on Thursday, with Brent crude approaching $100 a barrel following reports of an attack on two oil tankers near Iraq’s Basra port, raising concerns about potential supply disruptions in the Middle East.
Data from the commodity market shows that Brent crude was trading at $97.74 per barrel, up 6.6% from the previous close of $91.68.
Similarly, the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbed 6.5% to $93.07 per barrel, up from $87.41 in the previous session.
The price spike occurred after reports surfaced of two international oil tankers being attacked in the northern Gulf, near the borders of Iraq and Kuwait, temporarily pushing futures above $100 per barrel.
This price increase came despite a coordinated decision by the 32-member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) to release approximately 400 million barrels from strategic oil reserves, the largest such release in the agency’s history.
Furthermore, the US Department of Energy announced that it would release 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) over the next 120 days.
The department also stated that the reserve is expected to be replenished within the next year with about 200 million barrels—approximately 20% more than the withdrawn volume—without imposing additional costs on taxpayers.
Although the additional supply might ease global supply concerns and potentially limit further price increases, reports of tanker attacks near Iraq’s Basra port have reignited fears of supply disruptions.
An official confirmed that at least one person was killed in the attack, which targeted the two oil tankers in Iraqi territorial waters. Lt. Gen. Saad Maan of the Security Media Cell, speaking to Al-Iraqiya News, labelled the incident a “cowardly act of sabotage.”
He noted that the attack took place within Iraqi territorial waters and that six ships were deployed to rescue 38 crew members from the tankers, stressing that the Iraqi government is making efforts to ensure that Iraq does not become involved in the conflict.
These developments heightened concerns over the risks to energy shipments in the Middle East, amplifying fears of supply disruptions.
Additionally, US commercial crude oil inventories increased by 0.9% in the week ending March 3, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) late Wednesday.
Inventories rose by approximately 3.8 million barrels to a total of 443.1 million barrels, overshadowing market expectations of a 1.4 million barrels increase. This rise in inventory points to weaker demand in the world’s largest crude consumer, potentially limiting further price increases. Strategic Oil Reserves Release Will Reduce Prices – Trump
