Brent crude oil price surged $3 in Asian trading on Thursday after Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies began a military operation in Yemen. Asian importers, however, said they were not immediately worried about supply disruptions.
Brent crude oil futures rose to $59.71 a barrel. U.S. crude was up $2 at $52.24 a barrel.
The strike against Houthi rebels who have driven the president from the country's capital could stoke concerns about the security of oil shipments from the Middle East.
Despite the price rise, importers of Middle East oil were not immediately concerned about disruptions.
"Yemen is not a big supplier of oil... This could help move oil prices partly, but we don't see this will disrupt actual oil supply," said Kim Woo-kyung, a spokeswoman at SK Innovation, a parent company of South Korea's largest refiner SK Energy.
South Korean officials also said the current troubles occurred near the Red Sea, waters that Gulf suppliers to Asia do not have to pass.
While importers said the Saudi attack itself was unlikely to disrupt supplies, the threat of spreading war in the region could impact oil flows.
Shipping routes to Asia may not be immediately affected but shipping lanes to Europe could be. Arab producers like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq have to pass Yemen's coastlines via the tight Gulf of Aden in order to get through the Red Sea and Suez Canal to Europe.