Ice Brent crude futures edged up in early Asian trading because of continued market concerns over disruptions to Middle East oil flows following a tanker incident off the east coast of Oman.
The Ice front-month December Brent contract was at $110.62/bl at 04:00 GMT, up by $1.83/bl from its settlement on 20 October, when it ended 76¢/bl lower.
The Nymex front-month December crude contract was at $99.44/bl, up by $1.62/bl from its settlement on 20 October, when it ended 72¢/bl lower.
A tanker was involved in an incident with military forces off the east coast of Oman on 19 October, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on 20 October. The incident occurred at 14:00 local time around 121 nautical miles, or 224km, east of Duqm in the Arabian Sea.
"Reports indicate that the tanker was subject to interaction as part of ongoing military activity in the region," UKMTO said, adding that investigations were continuing.
UKMTO did not identify the tanker or the military forces involved and gave no details about the nature of the interaction. But the location of the incident suggests that the forces were probably from the US Navy, which has been enforcing a maritime blockade on Iran since mid-July.
The incident came following renewed Iranian attacks on commercial shipping through the strait of Hormuz. At least 12 vessels were attacked in the strait in the week to 16 October, UKMTO said, although the actual number was likely higher because many incidents were not reported, it added.
Separately, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said a tanker struck a naval mine early on 19 October while attempting to leave the Mideast Gulf through the strait, causing a fire in its engine room.
The UK government said it will fly military missions over Saudi Arabia to protect infrastructure from attacks. Typhoon jets will operate "in a defensive mode", London said, and will not carry out air strikes against the Yemen-based Houthi militant group.
Riyadh's escalating conflict with the Houthi rebels has seen that group widen the scope of its targeting to include several fatal missile strikes against King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, as well as a hit on state-controlled Aramco's headquarters in Dhahran.
IEA executive director Fatih Birol said that he does not see "any credible pathway" for a normalisation of energy markets next year and that the crisis in the Middle East could escalate further.
"I'm very worried that there will be some overlapping crisis in [the] Middle East … there may be some other crisis and it may further escalate the situation which will have serious implications for the energy markets," he told the Financial Times Energy Transition Summit in London.
IEA member countries agreed in March to release 400mn bl of oil from emergency reserves. This was a "cushion", Birol said on 20 October. The IEA said earlier this month that around 330mn bl had been released so far.
Birol also noted that while many expected crude prices to have risen further, "we don't use crude oil, we use products". It is "myopic" to assess the gravity of the situation on crude prices alone, when oil products prices have increased faster, he added.
Ice Brent crude futures edged up in early Asian trading because of continued market concerns over disruptions to Middle East oil flows following a tanker incident off the east coast of Oman.
The Ice front-month December Brent contract was at $110.62/bl at 04:00 GMT, up by $1.83/bl from its settlement on 20 October, when it ended 76¢/bl lower.
The Nymex front-month December crude contract was at $99.44/bl, up by $1.62/bl from its settlement on 20 October, when it ended 72¢/bl lower.
A tanker was involved in an incident with military forces off the east coast of Oman on 19 October, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on 20 October. The incident occurred at 14:00 local time around 121 nautical miles, or 224km, east of Duqm in the Arabian Sea.
"Reports indicate that the tanker was subject to interaction as part of ongoing military activity in the region," UKMTO said, adding that investigations were continuing.
UKMTO did not identify the tanker or the military forces involved and gave no details about the nature of the interaction. But the location of the incident suggests that the forces were probably from the US Navy, which has been enforcing a maritime blockade on Iran since mid-July.
The incident came following renewed Iranian attacks on commercial shipping through the strait of Hormuz. At least 12 vessels were attacked in the strait in the week to 16 October, UKMTO said, although the actual number was likely higher because many incidents were not reported, it added.
Separately, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said a tanker struck a naval mine early on 19 October while attempting to leave the Mideast Gulf through the strait, causing a fire in its engine room.
The UK government said it will fly military missions over Saudi Arabia to protect infrastructure from attacks. Typhoon jets will operate "in a defensive mode", London said, and will not carry out air strikes against the Yemen-based Houthi militant group.
Riyadh's escalating conflict with the Houthi rebels has seen that group widen the scope of its targeting to include several fatal missile strikes against King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, as well as a hit on state-controlled Aramco's headquarters in Dhahran.
IEA executive director Fatih Birol said that he does not see "any credible pathway" for a normalisation of energy markets next year and that the crisis in the Middle East could escalate further.
"I'm very worried that there will be some overlapping crisis in [the] Middle East … there may be some other crisis and it may further escalate the situation which will have serious implications for the energy markets," he told the Financial Times Energy Transition Summit in London.
IEA member countries agreed in March to release 400mn bl of oil from emergency reserves. This was a "cushion", Birol said on 20 October. The IEA said earlier this month that around 330mn bl had been released so far.
Birol also noted that while many expected crude prices to have risen further, "we don't use crude oil, we use products". It is "myopic" to assess the gravity of the situation on crude prices alone, when oil products prices have increased faster, he added.
By Reena Nathan