Brent crude oil futures marginally traded higher on Friday morning following the disruption in the movement of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz and reports of attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure.
At 9.19 am on Friday, June Brent oil futures were at $96.10, up by 0.19 per cent, and May crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $97.71, down by 0.16 per cent. April crude oil futures were trading at ₹9133 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Friday against the previous close of ₹8933, up by 2.24 per cent, and May futures were trading at ₹8443 against the previous close of ₹8325, up by 1.42 per cent.
In a post on the social media platform Truth Social, US President Donald Trump said: “There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait — They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!”
In another post, he said: “Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz. That is not the agreement we have!”
One of the posts by Trump said: “Because of me, IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON and, very quickly, you’ll see Oil start flowing, with or without the help of Iran and, to me, it makes no difference, either way.”
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s state news agency SPA, which quoted sources in Saudi’s Energy Ministry, said that important energy facilities in the Kingdom have recently been subjected to multiple attacks, including oil and gas production, transportation, and refining facilities, as well as petrochemical facilities and the electricity sector in Riyadh, the Eastern Province, and Yanbu Industrial City.
These attacks included one of the pumping stations on the East-West Pipeline, leading to a loss of approximately 700,000 barrels per day in throughput. This pipeline is considered the main route for supplying global markets during this period, the report said. The Manifa production facility was also targeted, resulting in a reduction of approximately 300,000 barrels per day from its production capacity. Additionally, the Khurais facility had previously been targeted, leading to a reduction of 300,000 barrels per day from its production capacity, bringing the total reduction in the Kingdom’s production capacity to approximately 600,000 barrels per day, the report added.