Oil Prices Jump Over 3% Following New Strikes on Saudi Arabia and Strait of Hormuz

Brent crude futures rose to $107.82 per barrel on Sept 14, climbing more than three percent after Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabian energy infrastructure and attacks on commercial vessels in the Middle East compounded global supply concerns, according to Reuters.

The latest market surge follows a sequence of disruptions across vital energy transit routes and production facilities in the region. West Texas Intermediate futures climbed $3.17, or 3.2 percent, to reach $103.22 per barrel by 3:40 am GMT on Sept 14, according to Reuters. Brent crude earlier hit a session high of $108.65 per barrel. Overall, oil prices surged around eight to nine percent over the preceding week, pushing Brent above $100 a barrel for the first time since July.

Pipeline Shutdown Threatens Global Oil Supply

Saudi Arabia’s crucial East‑West oil pipeline was temporarily shut down following a drone attack, according to Saudi officials cited by Reuters. The pipeline allows Riyadh to avoid the Strait of Hormuz and reroute its exports through the Bab el‑Mandeb strait. Its closure threatens up to four percent of global oil supply.

With the pipeline out of service, the western Saudi Arabian port city of Yanbu maintains enough inventory to cover just five to seven days of exports, according to three industry sources. Rystad oil markets analyst Janiv Shah noted that the relatively contained price reaction suggests the market still expects Saudi inventories to cushion exports in the near term, but that could change quickly if the disruption extends beyond that inventory window.

Adding to regional infrastructure damage, Saudi Arabian state media released video footage on Sept 13 showing damage to homes and a mosque in the country’s southern Jazan province from what officials identified as a Houthi attack.

Maritime Attacks Intensify Shipping Risks in the Gulf and Red Sea

Maritime security agencies reported multiple vessel strikes across critical Middle Eastern chokepoints. A vessel in the Strait of Hormuz was struck by a projectile on Sept 13, causing a fire and forcing the crew to evacuate, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations. Separately, Iran reported that one person was killed and four crew members were wounded aboard an Iranian commercial vessel struck off its coast.

On Sept 11, Yemen’s Iran‑aligned Houthis arrived at the key island of Perim, supplementing the Hormuz strikes as they sought to ramp up authority over the Bab el‑Mandeb Strait. The Bab el‑Mandeb Strait has handled four to five percent of global oil supply in recent months. Iran issued a list of 77 ships it claimed had violated its protocols for operating in Hormuz.

Diplomatic efforts to address the shipping crisis faced immediate setbacks. On Sept 13, Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi utilized the X social media platform to announce the postponement of a planned Sept 14 meeting in Oman between Iran and Gulf nations regarding the Strait of Hormuz. Ever since an interim arrangement from June fell apart after only a couple of weeks, no peace negotiations have taken place concerning the conflict initiated six months ago by Israel and the United States.

Broader Economic Impacts and Market Reactions

The energy rally has rippled through international markets, placing pressure on global bond markets as higher energy prices feed inflation and push yields to fresh multi‑year highs.

PVM analyst John Evans described the challenge facing the industry, stating:

Unless both conflicts impacting oil costs are halted and the worldwide refinery capacity dilemma is resolved, our industry peers are left searching for where a shield against $120 Brent might be discovered.