Oil surged up to 4% as Aramco evacuates headquarters and Hormuz mine strikes escalate

Global crude oil futures surged on Thursday to their highest levels since May after Saudi Aramco evacuated its Dhahran headquarters, the US ordered diplomats out of Saudi Arabia, and fresh naval mines struck Gulf shipping.

Crude benchmarks rallied aggressively on Thursday as acute Middle East supply threats ignited panic buying across the complex. Brent surged $4.35, or 4.0%, to settle at $113.17 a barrel, touching an intraday peak of $113.40. December WTI climbed $2.32, or 2.4%, to settle at $99.47 after briefly topping $100.17, blowing the transatlantic spread out to $13.70.

Physical disruption risks accelerated following unprecedented security alerts in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco instructed employees to evacuate its Dhahran corporate headquarters following deadly Houthi strikes on Dammam’s airport and the Shaybah oilfield, prompting Washington to order diplomatic families out of the Kingdom. Additional supply losses emerged in Libya, where pipeline valve closures halted output across the Hamada and Tahara fields.

Escalating maritime warfare deepened the supply squeeze. Iran's military confirmed four tankers transferring crude were struck in the Persian Gulf, while three additional commercial vessels hit naval mines west of the Strait of Hormuz. PVM Oil analysts noted these intensifying transit chokepoints and infrastructure hits have fully overwhelmed paper export recovery estimates, locking in substantial geopolitical risk premia heading into the weekend.