Oil Hits US$104 After Aramco HQ Hit, Hormuz Ship Sunk

A targeted missile strike on Saudi Aramco’s administrative headquarters and the sinking of a Singapore-flagged container ship in the Strait of Hormuz have sent Brent crude prices surging past US$104 per barrel.

On Tuesday (October 14) night, Iran-aligned Houthi militias launched a ballistic missile into Dhahran, a critical hub for the Saudi oil industry in eastern Saudi Arabia. Brent crude spiked to US$107.09 per barrel following the assault.

The strike hit a Saudi Aramco administrative building, igniting a limited fire but causing no casualties, according to the Saudi Energy Ministry. The attack occurred as Saudi air defenses intercepted additional missiles directed at the capital, Riyadh, where falling debris injured four civilians.

The strike followed two missile attacks on Riyadh’s international airport over the weekend. In response, the Saudi-led coalition conducted retaliatory strikes on Tuesday against Houthi-controlled energy sites in western Yemen, including loading piers at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah and a fuel station in the capital, Sanaa.

Hours before the strike on Dhahran, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman attempted to assuage global market anxieties at the WPC Energy Congress.

“Energy resilience must also be measured by the ability to maintain, repair, reroute, substitute and recover. Above all, it must be measured by the ability to continue delivering under pressure,” Prince Abdulaziz said, declaring Riyadh the “capital of energy security.”

Around the same day, the Singapore-registered container ship GFS Pride was struck by an unidentified projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The 2,824-TEU vessel caught fire and subsequently sank, but all 21 crew members were safely evacuated.

A second Singapore-registered vessel, the GFS Giselle, was struck the following day. It sustained hull damage but reached a safe anchorage under its own power.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore condemned the strikes, calling them "unprovoked, unjustifiable and a breach of international law."

Both disruptions sent immediate shockwaves to the global energy market. International benchmark Brent crude for December delivery traded at US$104.66 a barrel during European hours on Thursday, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for November hovered near US$95.34.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) warned in its October report that fresh attacks on Saudi infrastructure threaten to derail the recovery in global oil supply, cautioning that constraints on diesel markets could extend well into next year.

To mitigate price shocks, the Trump administration is reportedly considering easing sanctions on "shadow fleet" vessels transporting oil from countries such as Russia.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.