Iran and Israel trade strikes on energy facilities — Bloomberg
Iran and Israel traded strikes on key energy facilities in the Middle East, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. The strike followed a warning from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) hours earlier that a number of energy sites in Gulf countries would be considered “legitimate targets” after Israel attacked a key gas field in Iran.
The IRGC said that Iran has entered a new phase targeting energy infrastructure and claims retaliatory strikes hit facilities tied to US interests.
Meanwhile, energy infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been directly drawn into escalating regional tensions, after authorities intercepted missiles targeting key energy infrastructure. UAE Foreign Ministry called attack by Iran on its gas facilities and oil field a dangerous escalation and breach of international law.
US President Donald Trump said that he wants no more strikes on Iranian energy sites after Israel’s Wednesday attack on a vital Iranian gas field. However, he could once again be open to targeting more Iranian energy facilities depending on Tehran’ future actions in strategic waterways.
Market reaction
At the time of writing, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is down 0.73% on the day at $97.85.
WTI Oil FAQs
WTI Oil is a type of Crude Oil sold on international markets. The WTI stands for West Texas Intermediate, one of three major types including Brent and Dubai Crude. WTI is also referred to as “light” and “sweet” because of its relatively low gravity and sulfur content respectively. It is considered a high quality Oil that is easily refined. It is sourced in the United States and distributed via the Cushing hub, which is considered “The Pipeline Crossroads of the World”. It is a benchmark for the Oil market and WTI price is frequently quoted in the media.
Like all assets, supply and demand are the key drivers of WTI Oil price. As such, global growth can be a driver of increased demand and vice versa for weak global growth. Political instability, wars, and sanctions can disrupt supply and impact prices. The decisions of OPEC, a group of major Oil-producing countries, is another key driver of price. The value of the US Dollar influences the price of WTI Crude Oil, since Oil is predominantly traded in US Dollars, thus a weaker US Dollar can make Oil more affordable and vice versa.
The weekly Oil inventory reports published by the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the Energy Information Agency (EIA) impact the price of WTI Oil. Changes in inventories reflect fluctuating supply and demand. If the data shows a drop in inventories it can indicate increased demand, pushing up Oil price. Higher inventories can reflect increased supply, pushing down prices. API’s report is published every Tuesday and EIA’s the day after. Their results are usually similar, falling within 1% of each other 75% of the time. The EIA data is considered more reliable, since it is a government agency.
OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) is a group of 12 Oil-producing nations who collectively decide production quotas for member countries at twice-yearly meetings. Their decisions often impact WTI Oil prices. When OPEC decides to lower quotas, it can tighten supply, pushing up Oil prices. When OPEC increases production, it has the opposite effect. OPEC+ refers to an expanded group that includes ten extra non-OPEC members, the most notable of which is Russia.
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