An Argentine judge has ordered Rockhopper and Navitas to halt the Sea Lion oil project near the Falklands, despite Argentina not controlling the territory or waters concerned.
Saudi Arabia’s Hormuz bypass has been shut, Yanbu stocks are finite, and emergency reserves are already being drawn. The question is whether repairs and replacement supplies arrive in time.
Some physical European oil cargoes have risen above $130 a barrel, with North Sea Forties reaching $136.75 as buyers seek alternatives to disrupted Saudi supplies.
Saudi Arabia has issued emergency alerts across several cities as Houthi missile and drone attacks intensify, with 13 civilians injured and critical oil infrastructure already disrupted.
The Bank of England is expected to hold Bank Rate at 3.75% while slowing quantitative tightening as oil prices rise and gilt markets remain under pressure.
Oil prices jumped more than $3 as fresh attacks hit Saudi Arabia and shipping in Hormuz while the Saudi pipeline designed to bypass the strait remains offline.
Donald Trump has suggested the United States could remain in Iran and ‘keep the oil’, raising questions about Washington’s end-state in the war.
Saudi Arabia may have only five to seven days of export stocks if its damaged East-West pipeline does not restart, putting around 4% of global oil supply at risk.
A vessel has been struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz as attacks expose vulnerabilities in both the Gulf oil chokepoint and Saudi Arabia’s principal bypass.
Iran says an emerging understanding with Oman does not immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz and has characterised it as a step towards Iranian sovereignty over the waterway.
