Traders have scrambled to calculate what the limit move in oil would be, after Saturday's drone attack on the ''world's most important oil processing plant''. And moments ago, Brent crude reopened for trading, exploding almost 20% higher, its biggest jump in 28-years time.
Bloomberg notes that this attack has resulted in the single-worst disruption in oil markets ever, surpassing the loss of Kuwaiti and Iraqi petroleum supply in August 1990, when Iraq invaded its southern neighbor. 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."
Furthermore, in light of news that the Saudi outage could last for months, this could be just the start. As a reminder, according to Morningstar research director, Sandy Fielden, "Brent could go to $80 tomorrow, while WTI could go to $75... But that would depend on Aramco's 48-hour update. The supply problem won't be clear right away since the Saudis can still deliver from inventory."
Of course, should Aramco confirm that the outage will last for weeks, expect the Brent onslaught to continue until the price hits $80, and keeps moving higher.
Finally, here is the price summary from Goldman commodity strategist Damien Courvalin, who earlier today laid out four possible shutdown scenarios, and the price oil could hit for each:
As investment banks like Goldman Sachs are drafting the potential price scenarios for crude. Geopolitical risk analysts are watching the reactions in Washington, Riyadh, Dubai and Tehran. Related: U.S. And Russia Battle It Out Over This Huge Iraqi Gas Field
In a series of tweets on Saturday, Foreign Secretary Mike Pompeo was quick to point the finger at Iran, claiming that there was no evidence that the attack came from Houthi rebels in Yemen.
In the meantime, speculation is rife about where the attack exactly came from. According to Reuters, Kuwaiti security specialists are investigating the sighting of a drone over its territory and coordinating with Saudi Arabia and other countries after Saturday's attacks on Saudi oil plants.
Next to this, Iraqi media reports suggested that the attack on Saudi oil facilities came from Iraq, but these claims were quickly denied by Baghdad, vowing to prosecute anyone using the country as a launchpad for attacks in the region.
With every stakeholder in the Persian Gulf on edge, it goes without saying that any retaliatory action could send crude prices soaring beyond $80 per barrel.
By Oilprice.com Editorial Department & Zerohedge.com
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Comments
Better to let the two theocracies mutually annihilate each other so we can get off imported oil for good IMO.