Brent crude prices jumped 9% to soar over US$105 per barrel in Thursday morning’s deals after Russia launched a "full-scale invasion" of Ukraine overnight.
A raft of new international sanctions is expected in the wake of Russian tanks and troops rolling across the border into Ukraine and cruise missile strikes on major cities including the capital Kyiv.
It adds yet more uncertainty and threat to supply in what was already a tight oil market.
Whilst Brent Crude changed hands at US$105.26, West Texas Intermediary crude was also up 9% trading at just over US$100.
In London, Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL, EURONEXT:SHELL) shares were up slightly more than 2% at 1,983p whilst BP PLC (LSE:BP.) – which owns close to 20% of Rosneft (AIM:ROSN), Russia’s third-largest oil company – saw its share price fall 3.3% to 370p.
North Sea producer Harbour Energy (LSE:HBR) Plc was up 3.6% at 365.6p, Tullow Oil PLC (LSE:TLW) was up 2.6% at 51.92p, and Enquest shares gained 4.5% to 21.79p.
Hurricane Energy PLC (LSE:HUR), which is in a race to generate enough cash to repay bond debt before a July deadline, outpaced the rest of the sector to climb nearly 9% to trade at 8.21p.