Crude Oil Prices Surpass $115 A Barrel As The Iran War Threatens Production And Shipping

Oil prices eclipsed $115 per barrel on Monday as the Iran war intensified, threatening production and shipping in the Middle East.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, surged to $115.31, up 24% from its Friday closing price of $92.69.

West Texas Intermediate, the light, sweet crude oil produced in the United States, was selling for $116.33 a barrel. That’s 28% higher than its close Friday at $90.90.

The war’s toll on civilian targets grew early Monday as Bahrain accused Iran of striking a desalination plant vital to drinking water supplies, and oil depots in Tehran smoldered following overnight Israeli strikes.

The increases followed the U.S. crude price jumping by 36% and Brent crude rising by 28% last week. Oil prices have surged as the war, now in its second week, ensnared countries and places that are critical to the production and movement of oil and gas from the Persian Gulf.

Roughly 15 million barrels of crude oil — about 20% of the world’s oil — typically are shipped every day through the Strait of Hormuz, according to independent research firm Rystad Energy. The threat of Iranian missile and drone attacks has all but stopped tankers from traveling through the strait, which is bordered in the north by Iran, carry oil and gas from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Iran.