Amid Yemeni Strikes on Saudi Arabia, Brent Jumps to $101 Per Barrel

Follow-ups — Al-Khabar Al-Yemeni:

Oil markets entered the line of the repercussions of the escalation in the region, with Brent crude futures rising to $101 per barrel, amid increasing disruption in the movement of energy supplies and rising costs of transporting oil.

The rise came with the continuation of the repercussions of Yemeni strikes that hit vital Saudi oil facilities, including Aramco refineries in Jeddah, Rabigh, Riyadh, and Jizan, in addition to the Khurais area and the East-West pipeline, amid talk of fires breaking out and a halt in some production lines.

Analysts noted another factor pressing on the oil market, represented in the continuation of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to uncoordinated navigation, in conjunction with the maritime blockade on Saudi navigation, which led to a rise in the cost of transporting oil from the region by about ten times, as the cost of chartering a very large crude carrier from the Gulf to the Far East reached about $1.3 million per day, after it had been below $50,000 before the war.

The repercussions of the disruption also extended to the Saudi financial accounts, as the Fitch Ratings agency indicated acute financial pressures in the preliminary statement of the Kingdom’s budget for the year 2027, with expectations of rising spending and widening deficit, at a time when the disruptions of oil revenues represent a major risk to the financial forecasts.

Analysts believe that oil prices are likely to exceed the $120 per barrel threshold if the escalation continues, especially with the limited surplus production capacity and the decline in strategic inventories, as well as the disruption of pipelines and ports.