A pump jack is seen on March 17, 2026 in Stanton, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Oil prices rose more than 5% Wednesday as Israel and Iran escalate attacks on Middle East energy infrastructure.
Brent prices, the international benchmark, rose 5.37% to $108.97 per barrel. U.S. oil prices traded 2.76% higher to $98.87 per barrel by 9:57 a.m. ET.
Israel attacked Iran’s largest gas processing facility located in Bushehr Province, according to reports in the Times of Israel and Jerusalem Post.
Iran threatened to strike oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. The Revolutionary Guard warned people to stay away from several facilities that it described as “legitimate and prime” targets, according to Iranian state media.
The facilities are the Samref refinery and Al-Jubail petrochemical complex in Saudi Arabia; the Al Hosn gas field in the United Arab Emirates; and the Mesaieed petrochemical complex and Mesaieed holding company in Qatar.
The oil market could lose 11 million to 16 million barrels per day over the next four to six weeks because the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, according to Citi. This could push Brent prices to $110 to $120 a barrel, the bank said.
In a more severe scenario, Citi said a prolonged outage or broader attacks on energy infrastructure could drive prices to $130 on average in the second and third quarters, with spikes as high as $150 Brent or even $200 including refined products.