Brent Back Above $100 as Houthis Hit Saudi Infrastructure
Brent crude rose above $100 a barrel after reports that Houthi forces struck Saudi energy infrastructure, reversing earlier losses. At the time of reporting Brent was $101.49/b and WTI $90.14/b, even though Saudi Arabia said flows via the Rast-West pipeline had recovered to 5.8 million barrels per day.
Why It Matters
The attacks have renewed concerns about Middle East supply security and logistics, keeping upward pressure on oil prices despite official statements of restored flows. Higher freight and insurance costs for tankers are compounding market nervousness and can materially raise delivered crude costs.
Key Facts
- Brent price: $101.49 per barrel
- WTI price: $90.14 per barrel
- Rast-West pipeline flows (Saudi statement): 5.8 million barrels per day
- Aramco refinery capacity at Jazan: 400,000 barrels per day
- Daily crude exports from Persian Gulf (Vitol): 12 million barrels
Crude prices climbed after fresh reports that Houthi forces attacked Saudi infrastructure, reversing earlier declines and pushing Brent back above $100 a barrel. Market quotes at the time showed Brent at $101.49 and West Texas Intermediate at $90.14, reflecting elevated geopolitical risk despite official Saudi comments on restored pipeline flows.
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, told reporters that flows through the Rast-West pipeline had recovered to 5.8 million barrels per day, a statement intended to counter accounts of a renewed shutdown following the attacks. Nevertheless, Saudi air transport authorities confirmed strikes on two airports, including Jazan, the site of a 400,000-bpd Aramco refinery — a development that appears to have sustained market concern about regional security.
Market participants are weighing improving export volume figures against the persistent threat of disruption. Vitol data cited by the source indicate roughly 12 million barrels per day of crude and about 2 million barrels per day of fuels are departing the Persian Gulf, but analysts say the logistics of moving that supply have become more complicated and costly.
Those logistics pressures are already visible in freight markets: supertanker rates have surged above $1 million per day, and cost increases are spreading to smaller vessels, according to Sparta Commodities’ senior oil market analyst June Goh. ING commodity strategists described the market as being caught between recovering supply metrics and continuing security risks, arguing that prices are unlikely to fall sustainably until those risks ease.
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