Although the West hasn't directly imposed sanctions on Russian oil exports, several other sanctions have hampered the sale of Russian crude, fueling a surge in oil prices Friday morning.

A barrel of European reference crude Brent costs USD 111.22 Friday morning against USD 112.21 Thursday afternoon, with US benchmark West Texas Intermediate trading concurrently at USD 108.98 against USD 109.66 Thursday afternoon.

Oil prices have risen on the heels of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, stoking fears of tight supplies in an already strained market. Even though the West hasn't directly blocked Russian oil and gas exports yet, the ban from the payment system SWIFT has hampered sales for the world's second largest oil exporter, writes Reuters.

Russian oil exports account for 8 percent of global market.

Recent surges to the highest levels for Brent and WTI crude in 10 and 14 years, respectively, have motivated traders to buy crude options – thereby betting on additional price increases.

Ahead of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, trading averaged 126,000 crude options trades per day, but since the invasion, the number has gone up to 178,000 per day, according to data compiled by Reuters. In the first days of March, crude options trading rose to 240,000 per day.

"You've got investors in the market now looking longer-term and putting in plays to try to see what's happening, and it is stronger to the upside on higher prices," said JB Mackenzie, managing director at Charles Schwab Futures & Forex LLC.

"The indication is for higher prices."

EU can cut its Russian gas imports by a third, IEA says

Russian shelling unleashes blaze at Europe's largest nuclear power plant

Norwegian opposition parties call for ramping up hunt for oil and gas