THUR MAR 19 2026-theGBJournal| Oil prices spiked sharply Thursday, with Brent crude climbing +4.34% to $111.9 per barrel (06.43 GMT AM), as escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East rattle global energy markets.
WTI crude also rose +1.27% to $97.54 per barrel. The surge, trigged by Wednesday’s Israel’s strike on Iran’s key South Pars Gas Field, a critical hub, intensified widespread fears of major global supply collapse.
The U.S President Donald Trump had warned Wednesday the U.S will ”massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field”- shared between Iran and Qatar.
South Pars gas field accounts for a significant share of global oil and gas supply. Reports indicate the strike disrupted production and damaged critical infrastructure, prompting fears of a prolonged outages.
Meanwhile, oil markets are already warming up to the idea that crude could indeed reach $200 per barrel, a threat that Tehran’s military keeps on reiterating, after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz entered its third week.
Oil Exports from Gulf is estimated to have slumped by 60% since the US-Iran war started, with the previous flow of more than 25 million b/day shrinking to just 9.7 million b/day in the week ending March 15, tightening global oil markets.
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