Singapore, Nov. 14, 2025 – Oil prices climbed about 1% on Friday, boosted by supply fears after a Ukrainian drone attack hit an oil depot in a major Russian export hub, the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.
Brent crude futures rose 79 cents, or 1.25%, to $63.80 a barrel by 0701 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 82 cents, or 1.38%, to $59.50 a barrel.
Both contracts jumped more than 2% in early Asia trading but then pared some gains. Brent has gained 0.28% on the week, while WTI has lost 0.38%.
Friday’s attack damaged a ship in port, apartment blocks and an oil depot in Novorossiysk, injuring three crew of the vessel, Russian officials said.
“Ukrainian drone attacks … have sparked new fears of oil supply flow disruptions as this port is the second largest oil export hub in Russia,” said June Goh, senior oil market analyst for Sparta Commodities, adding that Friday’s attack came barely two weeks after another major one at Tuapse.
“The extent of the damage is not yet known but if the pattern of escalation continues, then there would be a supply curtailment both in crude and product exports out of Russia.”
Industry sources say crude oil shipments via Novorossiysk reached 3.22 million tonnes, or 761,000 barrels a day, in October, with a total of 1.794 million tonnes of oil products exported.
The price increases came after both Brent and WTI fell about 3% on Wednesday, weighed down by an OPEC report that global oil supply would match demand in 2026, in a further shift from its earlier projections of a supply deficit.
On Thursday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a larger-than-expected rise in U.S. crude stocks last week, while gasoline and distillate inventories fell less than expected.
Crude inventories rose by 6.4 million barrels to 427.6 million barrels in the week that ended on November 7, the EIA said, versus Reuters poll expectations for a gain of 1.96 million barrels.
Investors are also watching the impact of Western sanctions on Russian oil supply and trade flows.
The U.S. imposed sanctions banning deals with Russian oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft after November 21, as part of efforts to bring the Kremlin to peace talks over Ukraine.
About 1.4 million barrels per day of Russia’s oil, or almost a third of seaborne exporting potential, has been added to stocks held on tankers as unloading slows due to U.S. sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil, JPMorgan said on Thursday.
Unloading cargoes could become much more challenging after the November 21 cut-off to receive oil supplied by the companies, the bank added. (Bloomberg)
