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EMEA Oil Update: Brent Gains as Middle East Strikes Offset Diplomacy

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Brent crude futures rallied on Monday driven by escalating supply disruption fears following drone strikes on Saudi facilities and missile attacks on commercial tankers in the Persian Gulf.

Brent futures rose 1.5% to $84.77 per barrel, while Murban closed at $80.25/bbl on Aug. 7 and was not trading by the time of publication of this oil price update.

Iran's negotiations with Oman to determine a temporary route through the Strait of Hormuz was now in the "final stages", Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday.

Araghchi, through a Telegram messenger post on Sunday, said old shipping routes in the strait would be replaced with new ones in consultation with experts.

However, he maintained a firm stance that Tehran and Washington are not currently engaged in bilateral talks and will not initiate them while the US remains in breach of an interim deal signed in June.

Energy markets faced renewed supply disruption risks on Sunday after Houthi forces targeted the Saudi Arabia's Jazan refinery with a drone, just days after the kingdom signed a landmark trilateral defense pact with Turkey and Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the UAE condemned a hostile Iranian missile attack targeting a petroleum carrier affiliated with the Abu Dhabi National Oil as it transited through the Strait of Hormuz, with no injuries reported among the crew, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement released Saturday.

"Since the beginning of the conflict, 15 of our vessels have been attacked by missiles and drones while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, including three vessels this week alone. Tragically, these attacks have resulted in one fatality and 20 injuries to crew members," the energy giant Adnoc said on Friday in an email to.

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