SINGAPORE, March 12 (Reuters) - Middle East crude benchmark Dubai surged on Thursday to more than $50 a barrel, the highest in at least eight years, after Iran stepped up attacks on oil and transport facilities across the Middle East.

Oman and Murban also jumped.

Explosive-laden Iranian boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters on Wednesday, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member, after projectiles struck four vessels in Gulf waters, said port, maritime security and risk firms.

The latest attacks on ships linked to the U.S. and Europe mark an escalation in the conflict between Iran and U.S.-Israeli forces, raising the number of ships struck in the region since fighting began to at least 16.

Oil futures also rose on Thursday amid fears of a prolonged conflict and oil-flow disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai's premium to swaps rose 13.97 cents to $51.84 a barrel.

PRICES ($/BBL)

NEWS

China has ordered an immediate ban on refined fuel exports in March in a further step to preempt a potential domestic fuel shortage caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, four sources with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.

Iranian crude oil has continued to flow through the Strait of Hormuz at a near-normal pace even as Tehran-linked attacks on ships in the narrow waterway have decimated exports from other Gulf countries, a Reuters review of tanker tracking data showed.

The International Energy Agency on Wednesday agreed to release a record 400 million barrels of oil from strategic stockpiles to combat a spike in global crude prices since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, with the U.S. contributing the bulk of the supply.

China's smaller independent refiners are maintaining output to cash in on a surge in domestic fuel prices, but may be forced to trim runs from late April as cheap feedstocks from inventories run thin and new deliveries price in the war-induced rally, industry and trade sources said.

For crude prices, oil product cracks and refining margins, please click on the RICs below.

(Reporting by Siyi Liu in Singapore; Editing by Diti Pujara)

((siyi.liu@thomsonreuters.com;))

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