Oil prices climb past $110 after Houthi drone hits near Saudi Shaybah field

Global crude prices climbed past $110 a barrel following an aerial attack by Yemeni Houthi rebels close to a major Saudi Aramco production site, raising fresh concerns over energy market stability.

Brent crude advanced by 1.7 percent to reach $110.63 per barrel, while the United States benchmark West Texas Intermediate gained 1.4 percent to trade at $98.52. The price increases reflect mounting market anxiety over repeated assaults directed at vital energy assets across Saudi Arabia.

The latest market reaction was triggered by an incident at the Shaybah oilfield, located in the kingdom's Rub al-Khali desert near the frontier with the United Arab Emirates. Saudi air defence units intercepted an incoming drone aimed at a processing facility, but falling wreckage struck a contractor's vehicle outside the complex. The impact ignited a fire, leaving two individuals dead and two others wounded, the Saudi Energy Ministry reported. Officials stated that output at the field, which yields roughly one million barrels of oil each day, continued without interruption.

Hours after the incident at Shaybah, another strike targeted King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, resulting in one death and injuries to eight others, according to Saudi civil aviation authorities. The Houthis did not immediately issue a statement regarding the airport strike.

These events come amid an intensifying wave of cross-border operations. Earlier in the month, an assault against the primary international airport in Riyadh became the deadliest incident of its kind in the kingdom in over a decade. Energy transit routes have also faced disruption; on October 5, crude transportation along the East-West pipeline was stopped when a drone hit a pumping station east of the capital. The pipeline, capable of moving around seven million barrels per day to Red Sea terminals, serves as a crucial bypass around the Strait of Hormuz.

In response to the deteriorating security environment and escalating threats to infrastructure and civilian transport hubs, the United States government has directed non-emergency personnel and their relatives to depart Saudi Arabia. Energy analysts note that the widening offensive against oil assets and bypass corridors continues to build a substantial risk premium into international fuel benchmarks.