Oil Prices Surge Amid Saudi Pipeline Shutdown and Strait of Hormuz Tensions
Global oil prices surged about 3% on Monday due to fresh attacks on Saudi Arabian infrastructure and vessels around the Strait of Hormuz, intensifying concerns that disruptions to Middle East crude supply could become more prolonged.
Brent crude oil, the international benchmark for Nigerian crude oil, climbed $2.93, or 2.8%, to $107.54 per barrel by 08:00 a.m. Nigerian time, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose $2.88, or 2.9%, to $102.93 per barrel.
The renewed rally followed the temporary shutdown of Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline after drone attacks damaged infrastructure along the critical export route.
The East-West pipeline provides an alternative route for moving crude from producing regions in the east to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, bypassing the increasingly dangerous Strait of Hormuz. Its shutdown threatens a substantial volume of crude that could otherwise have been redirected away from Hormuz.