The West Texas Intermediate for June delivery increased 0.74 U.S. dollar to settle at 61.78 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for July delivery rose 1.01 dollars to close at 71.24 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Saudi Minister of Energy Khalid Al-Falih confirmed in a statement that the two oil-pumping stations of its main pipeline had been hit by explosive-laden drones, which caused a fire at the No. 8 station with limited damage.
Al-Falih condemned the attacks as "an act of terrorism" that targeted global oil supplies and aimed to destabilize the international energy supply.
The 1,200-kilometer East-West pipeline carries crude from Saudi Arabia's main eastern oil fields to the Red Sea port city of Yanbu in the west.
"Saudi Aramco took precautionary measures and temporarily stopped operation of the pipeline, as it is evaluating the situation and working on restoring the operations of the affected pump station and the pipeline," Al-Falih said.
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