Brent crude touched $100.64 a barrel on Thursday, a jump of 7%, after Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed to have struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
Oil prices climbed for a second straight session on Wednesday, with Brent crude rising above $92 a barrel, as investors weighed the risk of widening supply disruptions from the escalating Middle East conflict.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that escalating conflict in the Middle East is increasing risks to global energy security, with threats to the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb Strait fuelling uncertainty over global oil and natural gas supplies.
Oil prices surged above $90 a barrel on Monday as the escalating military confrontation between the United States and Iran heightened concerns over supplies from the Gulf, with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remaining severely disrupted following another night of attacks.
Iraq has signed energy agreements with US firms including ExxonMobil, KBR and GE Vernova to advance oil and power projects, while progressing a Mediterranean Energy Corridor pipeline initiative with a planned capacity of two million barrels per day.
The United States launched fresh waves of air strikes against Iran on Wednesday, targeting military infrastructure linked to Tehran's ability to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran retaliated with attacks on US military sites across the region, pushing the Gulf closer to a broader conflict.
Halliburton has won a multi-year contract from Saudi oil giant Aramco to deliver integrated stimulation and completion services for unconventional gas development in the kingdom. It builds on the US energy company’s established portfolio backing Aramco’s unconventional programme.
Oil prices extended gains on Wednesday as fears of a prolonged disruption to energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz intensified following the United States' reimposition of a naval blockade on Iranian ports and fresh threats from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to shut down regional oil and gas exports.
Oil prices surged on Tuesday, with Brent crude climbing above $85 a barrel for the first time in a month, as Iran's missile strike on two oil tankers and the United States' decision to reinstate a sweeping naval blockade of Iranian ports intensified a confrontation for control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices are climbing once again, and with them, fears that inflation could make an unwelcome return. Renewed tensions between the US and Iran have shifted investors' attention back to the impact of higher energy costs on the global economy, said a leading global market strategist.
