Shares of CNOOC Limited (00883.HK) surged close to 3% in late-session trading, bringing its cumulative gains for the month to over 18%. At the time of writing, the stock was up 2.55% to HK$24.1, with a turnover of HK$1.846 billion.

On the news front, both WTI and Brent crude futures prices rose more than 4% during Asian trading hours on July 22. Since the start of this month, the two major oil benchmarks have collectively surged over 25%.

Reports indicate that Yemen's Houthi forces have announced a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia. While there have been no reports of commercial vessel attacks near the Bab el-Mandeb strait yet, several oil tankers have already made emergency course changes to depart the Red Sea area.

Analysts from Everbright Securities noted that during the previous US-Iran tensions, the buffer reserves in the crude oil market were heavily depleted. The International Energy Agency (IEA) stated that member countries have already released nearly three-quarters of the 400 million barrels of emergency reserves announced in March. In a matter of weeks, this supply released to the market will be exhausted.

The peak season for refined product consumption is arriving, yet current global inventories for both crude oil and refined products are critically low. The IEA has already warned of risks of gasoline and diesel shortages. If US-Iran tensions persist, the crude oil market's regulatory mechanisms could fail, potentially leading to significantly greater market volatility.