Crude oil prices have surged more than 19 per cent after a drone strike on a Saudi Arabian oil facility wiped out about 5 per cent of global supplies.
Brent prices jumped as much as $11.73 to $71.95 a barrel in early trading in Singapore.
State energy producer Saudi Aramco lost about 5.7 million barrels per day of output after 10 unmanned aerial vehicles struck the world’s biggest crude-processing facility in Abqaiq and the kingdom’s second-biggest oil field in Khurais.
For oil markets, it’s the single worst sudden disruption ever, surpassing the loss of Kuwaiti and Iraqi petroleum supply in August 1990, when Saddam Hussein invaded his neighbour. It also exceeds the loss of Iranian oil output in 1979 during the Islamic Revolution, according to data from the U.S. Department of Energy.
New Zealand petrol prices could reach a nightmare $3 a litre following the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, economist Cameron Bagrie said today.
However, the true impact the explosions would have on the oil industry remains to be seen.
