Brent crude futures rose 2% on Thursday as fresh reports of fires involving oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz heightened concerns over security in the critical oil shipping corridor.
Brent crude gained $1.53, or 1.6%, to $96.15 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 0.6% to $88.64 per barrel.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday that two oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in separate incidents after attempting to navigate routes through the Strait of Hormuz that Iran considers unauthorised.
According to the IRGC, one tanker struck a naval mine while attempting to move south of the Strait, while another caught fire in its eastern section. A tugboat that approached the second vessel to assist also caught fire.
Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that a tanker was struck by two unidentified projectiles about 50 nautical miles north of Madinat ash Shamal, Qatar. The condition of the crew and the extent of the damage remained unconfirmed.
The latest reports follow an IRGC announcement on Wednesday that four oil tankers had been destroyed after striking naval mines in an area south of the Strait designated by Iran as prohibited for navigation.
The incidents come amid renewed pressure on regional oil shipments. Data from tanker-tracking firm Vortexa, cited by Reuters, showed that exports of crude oil, condensate and fuels from the Middle East fell to 17.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in October, from 18.9 million bpd in September.
Although shipments have recovered from their spring lows, the rising number of vessel incidents has renewed concerns about the security of oil movements through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles a significant share of global oil trade.