Oil Prices Continue Ascent | Rigzone

In an exclusive interview with Rigzone on Thursday, Art Hogan, Chief Market Strategist at B. Riley Wealth, said oil prices “continued their ascent overnight as strikes on key energy infrastructure in the Middle East exacerbated fears of a global supply crunch”.

Hogan, who highlighted that oil prices have seen “sharp increases since the start of the war in Iran”, warned that, “unless, and until, there is a deescalation in the in the war in Iran and tanker movement through the Strait of Hormuz … reopens, we are likely to see high energy prices”.

In another exclusive interview with Rigzone today, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB) Chief Commodities Analyst Bjarne Schieldrop highlighted that Oman crude oil has been trading at around $155 per barrel, adding that this is “where the global oil pain started”.

“Pain and shortages are spreading more and more, so Brent is heading towards that price as well,” Schieldrop warned.

Phil Flynn, a senior market analyst at the PRICE Futures Group, highlighted, in another exclusive interview with Rigzone today, “raise[d] fears” that Iran “will continue to fight a war against energy”.

In a statement sent to Rigzone on Thursday, Naeem Aslam, Chief Investment officer at Zaye Capital Markets, said oil is trading “less like a commodity and more like a geopolitical asset right now”.

“The market is firmly priced on risk, not just demand. The tension around the Strait of Hormuz, combined with tight OPEC+ supply discipline and limited spare capacity, means even minor disruptions are triggering outsized price moves,” Aslam added.

“At the same time, stronger inflation data is reinforcing energy’s role in keeping price pressures elevated, creating a feedback loop where higher oil supports inflation but also tightens financial conditions,” he continued.

“The key near-term driver now shifts to macro data – resilient jobs and growth will validate demand and push prices higher, while weaker prints may cap gains but won’t fully unwind the embedded risk premium,” he went on to state.

Aslam warned that, in this environment, “oil remains in a high volatility regime where geopolitics sets the floor and data dictates the momentum”.

In a market update sent to Rigzone on Thursday, Rystad Energy warned that, “as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed in the wake of the U.S.-Iran military escalation, Gulf countries’ oil inventory levels are reaching maximum capacity”. Rystad outlined that this poses “serious challenges for regionally based refiners”. 

A statement posted on the Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) website today revealed that GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi had received the EU Special Representative for the Gulf Region, Luigi Di Maio, at the General Secretariat’s headquarters in Riyadh on Wednesday. That statement highlighted that Albudaiwi “emphasized the critical importance of maintaining the integrity of regional airspace, sea lanes, and the freedom of navigation – including the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb – to ensure the security of supply chains and the stability of global energy markets”.

Crude market commentary sent to Rigzone on Monday by the Sparta Commodities team warned that “each week should see physical oil markets start to price more medium-term disruption”.

In that commentary, Neil Crosby, head of research at Sparta Commodities, said, “this is only week three [of the Iran conflict]”.

“Each passing week simply must see market desperation rise,” he added.

“Physical crude markets still haven’t fully reacted to the scale of disruption,” Crosby went on to state in that commentary.

Brent closed at over $100 per barrel for the first time in years on March 12, when it came in at $100.46 per barrel. The last time Brent closed above $100 per barrel was on August 29, 2022, where it came in at $105.09 per barrel. Brent rose sharply from a close of $70.75 per barrel on February 26, 2026, to a close of $98.96 per barrel on March 9.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com