Oil prices rose roughly 1% on Friday after a Ukrainian drone strike hit an oil depot at the Russian export hub of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea, raising fresh concerns about supply disruptions.
Brent crude futures gained 79 cents, or 1.25%, reaching $63.80 a barrel by 0701 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 82 cents, or 1.38%, to $59.50 a barrel. Both benchmarks initially jumped more than 2% during early Asian trading before trimming some gains. For the week, Brent edged up 0.28%, while WTI slipped 0.38%.
Russian officials said Friday’s drone attack damaged a vessel, nearby residential buildings, and an oil depot, injuring three crew members. Analysts noted that Novorossiysk is Russia’s second-largest oil export port, making any disruption significant for global supply.
June Goh, senior oil market analyst at Sparta Commodities, said the attack intensified worries about potential supply interruptions, especially since it occurred less than two weeks after another large strike on Tuapse. She warned that continued escalation could limit both crude and refined product exports.
Industry data shows that crude shipments from Novorossiysk reached 3.22 million tonnes in October, equal to about 761,000 barrels per day, along with 1.794 million tonnes of oil product exports.
The latest price increase followed a sharp 3% drop on Wednesday after an OPEC report suggested global oil supply would meet demand by 2026—contradicting earlier forecasts that had predicted a supply deficit.
On Thursday, U.S. Energy Information Administration data showed a larger-than-expected build in crude inventories, while gasoline and distillate stocks declined less than anticipated. Crude inventories rose by 6.4 million barrels to 427.6 million barrels for the week ending November 7, well above expectations for a 1.96-million-barrel increase.
Investors are also watching how Western sanctions will affect Russian oil flows. The United States has imposed restrictions on deals involving Russian energy companies Lukoil and Rosneft after November 21, part of an effort to pressure Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
According to JPMorgan, about 1.4 million barrels per day of Russian oil—roughly one-third of its seaborne export capacity—has already been pushed into floating storage as tankers face delays due to U.S. sanctions. The bank warned that unloading shipments may become even more difficult after the November 21 cutoff for receiving oil from the sanctioned companies.
