Oil prices have climbed as reports of attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia rekindled concerns over supply shortages.

Oil prices have climbed as reports of attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia rekindled concerns over supply shortages. The West Texas Intermediate for May delivery added 1.56 US dollars, or 1.4 per cent, to settle at 113.90 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday. Brent crude for May delivery increased 1.62 dollars, or 1.4 per cent, to close at 120.65 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

Yemen’s Houthi militia on Friday claimed responsibility for fresh cross-border drone and missile attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, the third such attack in less than a week.

Houthi military spokesman Yehya Sarea said in a statement aired by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, “A number of bomb-laden drones targeted the oil refineries in Ras Tanura and Rabigh, as well as the Aramco oil facilities in Jazan and Najran … A barrage of wing missiles targeted Aramco oil facilities in Jeddah and the Saudi capital Riyadh.”

The news added fuel to the already volatile oil market shadowed by supply risks related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), on Thursday reiterated the IEA’s willingness to release further oil from emergency reserves if necessary.

In addition, Birol said that the IEA member countries are seeking to radically reduce their imports of Russian oil and gas. For the week, the US crude standard and Brent jumped 10.5 per cent and 11.8 per cent, respectively, based on the front-month contracts.

US condemns attacks on Saudi oil facilities

The United States has condemned the Houthi attacks on civilian infrastructure and facilities in several Saudi Arabian cities, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement.

Sullivan said in the statement on Friday, “We condemn the Houthi attacks launched against Saudi Arabia’s civil infrastructure earlier today. Unprovoked Houthi attacks against Saudi Aramco’s oil storage facilities in Jeddah as well as attacks against civil facilities in Jizan, Najran, and Dhahran are acts of terrorism aimed to prolong the suffering of the Yemeni people.”

Sullivan further said, “The United States stands fully behind efforts to de-escalate the conflict through the UN and will continue to support partners in defense of their territory from Houthi attacks.” Sullivan also said that the attacks were clearly enabled by Iran in violation of UN Security Council resolutions prohibiting the import of weapons into Yemen..