Crude hits $100 as Tanker Attacks Shut Gulf Oil Terminals


   
Barani Krishnan
DTN Refined Fuels Market Reporter

   SECAUCUS, NJ (DTN) -- Crude prices continued climbing on Thursday (3/12), 
with NYMEX West Texas Intermediate surpassing the $95 bbl mark and ICE Brent 
trading above $100, after two oil tankers were attacked, forcing the closure of 
oil terminals in the Persian Gulf as the Iran war escalates.

   By 8:45 a.m. ET, WTI crude futures for April delivery were up by $6.07 to 
$93.32 bbl after a session high at $ 95.97.  Brent crude for May delivery 
advanced by $6.50, or 7%, to $98.48 bbl after peaking at $101.59.

   Downstream, NYMEX RBOB futures for April delivery rose $0.1086 to $2.8969 
gallon. NYMEX ULSD futures for April soared $0.2580 to $3.9368 gallon.

   The upside in oil prices was partly muted by the announcement on Wednesday 
(3/11) by the International Energy Agency that the world's largest oil 
consumers will release a record 400 million bbl from their emergency reserves 
to mitigate a worsening global supply crisis. Separately, U.S. President Donald 
Trump said an additional 172 million bbl will be released from the nation's 
Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

   Reports on Thursday said Iraq has halted all operations at its oil ports 
after fuel spilled into the sea during attacks on two tankers in its 
territorial waters that killed a sailor. Footage of the vessels engulfed in 
flames flashed across news channels and social media platforms as Iran 
reiterated its warning that ships stay off the Strait of Hormuz where some 21 
million bpd of petroleum liquids pass.

   Oman was also reported to have evacuated all vessels from a key oil export 
terminal as precaution following a wave of attacks on ships in the region. 
China, meanwhile, issued a ban on exports of all refined fuel through March to 
prevent a potential domestic fuel shortage.

   Taken together, the developments showed disruptions from the near two-week 
long conflict in the Middle East spilling beyond the region as the U.S. and 
Israeli forces kept up with their bombardment of Iran and Tehran responded by 
striking at oil facilities, airports and military bases of its neighboring who 
were U.S. allies.

   "Once a conflict extends beyond the initial shock phase, oil markets tend to 
shift from pricing uncertainty to pricing endurance," research house ANZ said 
in a note.  "At that point, the key question is no longer whether supply is 
disrupted, but how long producers can physically sustain output under 
deteriorating operating conditions." 




(c) Copyright 2026 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.