Oil Prices Mixed as Reports Surface of Blasts Near Aramco HQ in Dhahran

Key Facts

1Brent crude settled near $106 while WTI rose to $94.14 amid geopolitical tensions.

2Loud booms were reported near Saudi Aramco’s Dhahran headquarters amid escalating conflict.

3OPEC cut its 2026 demand growth forecast for a sixth consecutive month.

Brent crude settled near $106 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose to $94.14 amid escalating geopolitical tensions. Reuters reported, citing six sources, that loud booms were heard near Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran, the center of the kingdom's oil industry. This development follows a coalition strike on a fuel depot near Sanaa, which led to Houthi threats against Saudi oil facilities, raising the risk profile for Gulf energy infrastructure.

OPEC cut its 2026 demand growth forecast for the sixth consecutive month, providing a bearish offset to immediate supply concerns. According to OPEC data, OPEC+ production rose sharply in September as Saudi Arabia increased its output to approximately 8.4 million barrels per day. Meanwhile, US diesel futures traded up about 5% as the market weighed a potential US-Russia export deal against the backdrop of persistent security threats to regional energy hubs.