World Oil Prices Flat This Week, Still Above 100 U.S. Dollars

HOUSTON, KOMPAS.com - Global oil prices remained relatively steady throughout this week, despite closing lower in Friday's (September 18, 2026) trading session, as markets assessed that the shutdown of Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline would not have as severe an impact as initially feared.

According to CNBC on Sunday (September 20, 2026), West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices fell 1.6 percent on Friday to $100.30 per barrel.

Meanwhile, Brent crude oil prices dropped 0.9 percent to $103.87 per barrel.

On a weekly basis, U.S. crude oil prices (WTI) ended flat, while Brent crude declined by nearly 1 percent.

Oil prices themselves have strengthened by more than 5 percent since last Thursday, following drone attacks launched from Iraq that damaged Saudi Arabia's pipeline network and forced its closure.

However, oil flows from the Middle East are considered to remain robust despite the disruption of Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline network.

"Middle East oil flows continue to be surprisingly strong despite the disruption to Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline," said Natasha Kaneva, Global Head of Commodities Strategy at JPMorgan.

JPMorgan estimates that average oil flows from the Middle East have been around 17 million barrels per day (bpd) over the past 10 days.

This figure is approximately 6 million bpd lower than the 2025 average.

Kaneva noted that satellite images show Saudi Arabia has been transporting 2.8 million bpd through the Strait of Hormuz in the last six days, compared to just 700,000 bpd in August.

Saudi Arabia's total exports also reached 5 million bpd on Tuesday, based on a 10-day moving average.

However, Kaneva cautioned that sustaining these volumes may prove challenging.

"For now, this approach seems to be working, provided Iran allows it," she said.

Meanwhile, Helima Croft, Global Head of Commodity Strategy at RBC Capital Markets, remarked that threats to crude oil supply and refined products remain significant.

The Houthi group, an Iranian ally in Yemen, could launch further attacks. "The Houthi likely still have access to drones and weapons necessary to conduct additional strikes on the East-West pipeline and energy infrastructure along the Red Sea," Croft said.

Nonetheless, Rapidan Energy forecasts that disruptions to the pipeline will restrict Saudi Arabia’s crude oil production and exports at least through the end of September.

"Risks remain skewed toward greater disruptions if the pipeline outages persist beyond September or if Iran, the Houthis, or other proxy groups escalate attacks," Rapidan stated in its report.