By Adam Whittaker

Oil and gas prices began rising again as the conflict in the Middle East spreads and supply disruption mounts. Thousands of ships are stranded in the Persian Gulf amid shipping disruptions at the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Aramco has begun to shift crude exports to its Red Sea hub at the city of Yanbu in a bid to avoid the waterway.

In afternoon trading in Europe, Brent crude trades up 2% to $82.99 a barrel. The U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate rises 2.1% to $73.26 a barrel. European natural gas prices trades higher, with the most-active TTF front-month contract rising 3.3% to 50.36 euros a megawatt-hour.

Below is a summary of some recent developments in the region.

On Thursday:

--A tanker at anchor off the coast of Kuwait reported seeing a "large explosion" on its port side, causing an oil spill, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations said.

On Wednesday:

--QatarEnergy's force majeure: The state-owned gas company triggered the force majeure clause after it halted production on Monday at its Ras Laffan LNG facility due to an Iranian strike. Force majeure allows companies to miss contracted deliveries to customers without penalty due to events beyond their control. QatarEnergy said Tuesday that it would also stop production of aluminum and several chemicals.

--Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura: The loading terminal and refinery complex was targeted by an Iranian drone. The attack didn't cause any damage after an initial assessment, official's said. This is the second attack on the facility this week. On Monday, Aramco was forced to temporary halt operations after a drone strike caused a small fire that was brought under control. Aramco has begun to shift crude exports to its Red Sea hub at Yanbu in a bid to avoid disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

--Iraq slashes oil output: Iraq more than halved its oil production as the country runs out of storage, oil officials said. Output at the country's largest oil field, Rumaila, was cut by 700,000 barrels a day, while production at West Qurna 2 field dropped by around 450,000 barrels a day, the officials said. Production at the Maysan oil field has fallen by around 350,000 barrels a day and the country suspended production from the northern Kirkuk region as a precaution.

On Tuesday:

--Fujairah in the UAE: Falling debris from an intercepted drone caused a fire at the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone. Normal operations resumed, according to the government of Fujairah. The facility can hold around 70 million barrels of oil products and hosts 18 oil terminals.

--Commercial Port in Oman: Fuel tanks at the commercial port of Duqm in Oman were targeted by several Iranian drones, with one striking a tank, the Oman News Agency reported.

On Monday:

--Tanker offshore Oman: One crew member was killed when a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker was struck by a remote-controlled boat off the coast of Oman, the Oman News Agency reported.

Write to Adam Whittaker at adam.whittaker@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 05, 2026 08:57 ET (13:57 GMT)

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