# Brent Settles at $113.17 After Houthi Strikes Hit Saudi Oil Sites and an Airport

Saudi Aramco told staff to evacuate its Dhahran headquarters, and the attack on Yanbu targets the Red Sea port that lets Saudi crude bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

- Published: 2026-10-23T05:16:29.344Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-10-23/brent-settles-at-113-17-after-houthi-strikes-hit-saudi-oil-s
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: markets
- Sources: [The Nation Thailand](https://www.nationthailand.com/news/world/40072637), [Investing.com Commodities](https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/oil-little-changed-as-supply-concern-lingers-amid-houthi-attacks-on-saudi-arabia-4967907), [Deutsche Welle](https://www.dw.com/en/india-news-thousands-of-indian-pilgrims-stranded-in-saudi-arabia-as-houthi-attacks-disrupt-flights-government-facilitating-return/live-79738437), [OilPrice](https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/LNG-Canada-Doubles-Capacity-as-Asia-Looks-Beyond-the-Gulf.html)

Brent crude [rose 4.0% on Thursday](https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/oil_surges_4_after_deadly_saudi_attacks-22-oct-2026-184912-article/) to settle at $113.17 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 2.4% to $99.47. [The Nation Thailand](https://www.nationthailand.com/news/world/40072637) tied the rise to supply fears after the Houthi attacks. Prices were [little changed on Friday](https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/oil-little-changed-as-supply-concern-lingers-amid-houthi-attacks-on-saudi-arabia-4967907) as traders waited for evidence of actual supply losses.

The Houthis claimed recent attacks on the Saudi Red Sea port of Yanbu and deadly strikes on an oil field and an airport inside the kingdom, [according to Reuters reporting](https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/oil-climbs-over-1-more-052014906.html). Saudi Aramco told staff to evacuate its headquarters in Dhahran. Fighting between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis has escalated since the group advanced toward the Bab el-Mandeb strait at the mouth of the Red Sea.

The location matters more than the scale of the damage so far. Yanbu is the terminal of Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline, the main route the kingdom uses to export crude without passing through the Strait of Hormuz. That route had been functioning well. India's imports of Middle Eastern oil [returned to pre-war levels in September](https://www.livemint.com/economy/indias-mideast-oil-imports-return-to-pre-war-levels-in-september-11792650907813.html) as producers and traders increased shipments through Hormuz, Mint reported. Attacks on the Red Sea side now put both export routes out of the Gulf at risk.

The disruption extends past oil. Thousands of Indian pilgrims are [stranded in Saudi Arabia](https://www.dw.com/en/india-news-thousands-of-indian-pilgrims-stranded-in-saudi-arabia-as-houthi-attacks-disrupt-flights-government-facilitating-return/live-79738437) because the attacks have disrupted flights, and India's government says it is arranging their return, Deutsche Welle reported. Asian buyers are already moving to secure supply outside the Gulf. Shell, Malaysia's PETRONAS, PetroChina, Mitsubishi and KOGAS approved the second phase of LNG Canada, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project, which [doubles the plant's capacity](https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/LNG-Canada-Doubles-Capacity-as-Asia-Looks-Beyond-the-Gulf.html) to 28 million tons a year.

## What this means

The market is now pricing risk to Saudi Arabia's alternate export route, not just to the Strait of Hormuz itself. Asian importers such as India, Japan and South Korea pay the most, through higher import bills and weaker currencies. U.S. shale producers, Canadian liquefied natural gas exporters and sellers of non-Gulf crude, including Russia, gain market share and margin. The closest precedent is the September 2019 attack on Abqaiq. Brent jumped about 15% in a day, then gave back most of the gain within two weeks once Aramco showed its output was restored. The consensus assumes the same pattern will repeat. This situation differs because 2019 was a single strike, while the current campaign is sustained and comes alongside an unresolved conflict with Iran. The desk's read: if Saudi export data show no lasting loss of volume, Brent gives back part of Thursday's gain within weeks, as it did in 2019. If attacks on Yanbu or Red Sea tankers continue, the premium stays because traders cannot price a safe route out of the Gulf. Confirmed damage to the East-West pipeline would make that second outcome more likely.

## What to watch

- Saudi loading data from Yanbu. A drop in Red Sea exports would turn Thursday's price move into a physical supply loss.
- War-risk insurance rates for tankers calling at Red Sea ports. A jump would raise delivered crude costs for Asian refiners even if no barrels are lost.
- More Asian investment decisions on non-Gulf gas and crude. Each new deal shows importers paying to reduce their dependence on Gulf routes.