Oil prices jump after Qatar warns disruption could push crude to $150

The oil market came under pressure on Friday after stark warnings raised concerns about further disruptions to global energy flows as the conflict in the Middle East escalated.

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By early afternoon in Europe, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude had risen more than 6% to above $86 a barrel. International benchmark Brent crude climbed more than 4%, trading above $89 a barrel.

Earlier on Friday, Qatar’s energy minister Saad al-Kaabi warned that Gulf exporters might have to suspend production due to the war and that it will take "weeks to months" to restore deliveries after the Iranian drone strike.

In an interview with the Financial Times, he warned that war in the Middle East could “bring down the economies of the world”, predicting that all Gulf energy exporters would shut down production within days and drive oil to $150 a barrel.

Markets were also shaken by an attack that forced the shutdown of a US-run oil field in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region.

As security tensions continue to rise in northern Iraq, explosions were reported near Erbil airport on Friday and an attack forced the shutdown of an oil field operated by US company HKN Energy.

The Kurdistan regional government’s natural resources ministry said production at the Sarsang oil field in Dohuk province had been halted following the attack.

A security source told AFP the strike was carried out using two drones the previous day.

The Kurdistan region, which hosts US troops and a major American consulate complex in Erbil, has increasingly been drawn into the wider conflict in the Middle East.

In recent days, drones have repeatedly been intercepted over the city.

Earlier this week, a source at an oil company in the region told AFP that most foreign energy companies had temporarily suspended production as a precaution.

The disruption has added to market fears that escalating conflict in the region could threaten global oil supplies.