US oil firms are skyrocketing after Saudi drone attacks cause record price spike

REUTERS/Donna Carson

• US oil firms in the S&P 500 spiked on Monday after two attacks on Saudi facilities crippled the global oil supply.
• The biggest movers included Marathon Oil, Devon Energy, and Cimarex, all of which saw double-digit percentage surges.
• The facilities may not return to previous production rates for several months, sources close to the matter told Reuters.
• Watch Brent crude oil trade live here.

US oil producers in the S&P 500 surged on Monday as crude prices surged following a drone attack on Saudi Arabian facilities that wiped out 5% of the world's supply.

The sector jumped after Saturday drone strikes wiped out much of Saudi Arabia's oil production. The price of crude oil spiked more than 20%, marking the biggest intraday increase since 1988.

Though they later stabilized, the attacks have resulted in the highest oil prices since early July.

Here are the biggest movers of the S&P 500 Monday morning:

• Marathon Oil (MRO): +15.6%
• Devon Energy (DVN): +13.8%
• Cimarex (XEC): +12.4%
• Apache (APA): +10.8%
• Concho (CXO): +9.9%

The five biggest movers collectively produce more than 1.8 million barrels of oil per day, according to regulatory filings.

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The two drone attacks on Saudi oil-fields affected about 6 million barrels of daily production. The strikes also crippled backup facilities which could have produced 2.27 million extra barrels per day. Though markets should be well supplied in the short term, it could take months to return to previous production levels, sources close to the matter told Reuters.

The Saturday attack "effectively eliminates the world's spare capacity," S&P Global Platts global head of market insight Sarah Cottle told CNBC.

US gasoline companies also rose on the news. Exxon Mobil rose about 3.3% in early trading, and Chevron jumped 3.4%.

Brent crude oil trades at $66.71 per barrel as of 9:00 a.m. ET Monday, up about 10.8% from the last closing price. If the disruption to the global oil supply chain lasts more than six weeks, prices could reach $75 per barrel, Goldman Sachs analysts said.

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