{"id":59669,"date":"2026-03-11T15:38:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T19:38:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/oil-surges-to-92-as-israel-iran-conflict-escalates-trump-invokes-defense-production-act-for-sable\/59669\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T15:38:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T19:38:31","slug":"oil-surges-to-92-as-israel-iran-conflict-escalates-trump-invokes-defense-production-act-for-sable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/oil-surges-to-92-as-israel-iran-conflict-escalates-trump-invokes-defense-production-act-for-sable\/59669\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil Surges to $92 as Israel-Iran Conflict Escalates; Trump Invokes Defense Production Act for Sable"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Brent crude futures settled at $91.98 per barrel, up 4.76%<\/strong>, as geopolitical tensions reached a boiling point following the first coordinated joint missile attack by Iran and Hezbollah on northern Israel.<\/li>\n<li><strong>President <a href=\"https:\/\/thestockmarketwatch.com\/live\/trump-stock-market\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Trump\">Trump<\/a> is expected to invoke the Defense Production Act<\/strong> for Sable Offshore Corp (<a href=\"\/stock\/SOC\">SOC<\/a>) to bypass California state regulations and restart critical offshore oil infrastructure to combat a tightening &quot;oil squeeze.&quot;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tesla (<a href=\"\/stock\/TSLA\">TSLA<\/a>) and xAI have announced a formal collaboration<\/strong> on &quot;Digital Optimus,&quot; a computer-controlling AI agent, following Tesla&#39;s recent $2 billion investment in Elon Musk&#39;s AI startup.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Microsoft (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSFT\">MSFT<\/a>) is in advanced talks to lease a massive data center site in Abilene, Texas<\/strong>, taking over a project that Oracle (<a href=\"\/stock\/ORCL\">ORCL<\/a>) and OpenAI previously abandoned.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bank of America (<a href=\"\/stock\/BAC\">BAC<\/a>) and Leon Black are reportedly &quot;very close&quot; to a settlement<\/strong> with Jeffrey Epstein&#39;s accusers, a move that would likely postpone Black&#39;s scheduled deposition.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Energy Markets and Geopolitical Escalation<\/h2>\n<p>Global energy markets reacted sharply Wednesday as <strong>Brent crude surged nearly 5% to settle at $91.98 per barrel<\/strong>. The price spike follows reports from senior Israeli defense officials that <strong>Hezbollah and Iran launched their first coordinated joint missile attack<\/strong> on northern Israel since the conflict began. The Israeli military has responded with an &quot;extensive wave&quot; of strikes on Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs, and the IDF warned that a &quot;long list&quot; of Iranian targets remains.<\/p>\n<p>In response to the escalating &quot;oil squeeze,&quot; President <a href=\"https:\/\/thestockmarketwatch.com\/live\/trump-stock-market\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Trump\">Trump<\/a> is moving to invoke the <strong>Defense Production Act (DPA)<\/strong> to fast-track domestic production. The administration specifically aims to support Sable Offshore Corp (<a href=\"\/stock\/SOC\">SOC<\/a>) in restarting its Santa Ynez Unit and associated pipelines off the California coast. This move is designed to <strong>preempt state environmental laws<\/strong> that have stalled the project, which the Department of Justice now deems a &quot;critical energy resource&quot; for the West Coast.<\/p>\n<p><em>Market analysts suggest that while supply remains tight, long-term outlooks vary.<\/em> BlackRock (<a href=\"\/stock\/BLK\">BLK<\/a>) CEO Larry Fink offered a contrarian view, stating that the <strong>Iran war could eventually lead to lower energy prices<\/strong> in the long term, though he did not provide a specific timeline for this deflationary shift.<\/p>\n<h2>Tech and Infrastructure Developments<\/h2>\n<p>In the technology sector, <strong>Tesla (<a href=\"\/stock\/TSLA\">TSLA<\/a>) and xAI are deepening their ties<\/strong> through a new joint project dubbed &quot;Digital Optimus.&quot; The collaboration will utilize xAI\u2019s Grok large language model to power an AI agent capable of controlling computers and potentially enhancing Tesla&#39;s Optimus humanoid robots. This follows a <strong>$2 billion investment by Tesla into xAI<\/strong>, a move that has drawn scrutiny from some shareholders but underscores Musk&#39;s strategy to unify his AI interests.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Microsoft (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSFT\">MSFT<\/a>) is also expanding its AI infrastructure footprint<\/strong> by targeting a large data center site in Abilene, Texas. The site, part of the &quot;Stargate&quot; project, was originally intended for an expansion by Oracle (<a href=\"\/stock\/ORCL\">ORCL<\/a>) and OpenAI before they walked away from the deal. Microsoft is reportedly in talks to lease <strong>hundreds of megawatts of capacity<\/strong> to bolster its Azure cloud and AI training capabilities.<\/p>\n<h2>Legal and Policy Updates<\/h2>\n<p>On the legal front, a high-stakes deposition of billionaire <strong>Leon Black<\/strong> scheduled for March 16 may be postponed. Lawyers for Black indicated that <strong>Bank of America (<a href=\"\/stock\/BAC\">BAC<\/a>) and Epstein\u2019s accusers are nearing a resolution<\/strong> in their civil dispute. The settlement would resolve claims that the bank facilitated Epstein&#39;s sex-trafficking venture by processing over <strong>$170 million in payments<\/strong> from Black to Epstein-controlled entities.<\/p>\n<p>In Washington, legislative gridlock continues as <strong>Republicans blocked a Democratic bill to fund DHS agencies<\/strong> other than ICE and CBP. Simultaneously, the Trump administration has petitioned the <strong>Supreme Court<\/strong> to intervene in its effort to end deportation protections for Haitians. Internationally, <strong>Colombia and Venezuela\u2019s PDVSA<\/strong> announced a roadmap to reactivate the Antonio Ricaurte binational gas pipeline, signaling a rare moment of regional energy cooperation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Brent crude futures settled at $91.98 per barrel, up 4.76%, as geopolitical tensions reached a boiling point following 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