Energy stocks climbed higher on Tuesday as oil and gas prices soared on the back of Russia ordering troops into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine.

Shell (SHEL.L) and BP (BP.L) both pushed 2% higher to the top of the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) as the index suffered from a global sell-off, while the price of Brent crude (BZ=F) reached a seven-year high of $99.04 (£72.87) a barrel.

On the FTSE 250, Energean (ENOG.L) gained 5.8% while Harbour Energy (HBR.L) was 4.1% higher and Capricorn Energy (CNE.L) was 2.3% up. Tullow Oil (TLW.L) also advanced more than 8% on the news.

Fears of disruption in energy markets also sent natural gas prices surging 13% in Europe. The UK equivalent is up more than 8% on the back of the news.

“The intensifying crisis between Russia and Ukraine has raised concerns about the supply disruptions that would ensue as sanctions look set to cripple Russia, the world’s second largest oil exporter and the world’s top natural gas producer,” Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said.

“If Putin continues his aggression and the threat of war becomes a reality, oil prices could easily push beyond $100 towards $120 a barrel to fresh highs not seen since 2014.

“Not only are geopolitical tensions supporting the uptrend but the fundamentals of supercharged demand post COVID coupled by constrained supply from OPEC+ continue to support more bullish price action ahead.”

Experts are now predicting that oil could go through $100 a barrel and push towards $120 to highs last seen in 2014.

The UK, as well as several western allies, have threatened sanctions on Russia, which is the second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia. Russia is also the world's top producer of natural gas.

Around a third of Russian gas supplies to Europe normally travel through pipelines crossing Ukraine. Sanctions against Moscow could disrupt supplies further and also upend commodity markets from oil and gas to metals and agriculture.

Britain, however, is less dependent on Russian gas than many of its EU counterparts.

Read more: European stock markets slump as Putin orders Russian troops into Ukraine

UK prime minister Boris Johnson is due to set out further details of measures against Russia in the House of Commons on Tuesday. He said the measures will be "targeted not just at entities in Donbass and Luhansk and Donetsk, but in Russia itself.

“I think that the tragedy of the present situation is that President Putin has surrounded himself with like-minded advisors who tell him that Ukraine is not a proper country, he said.

“And I think that he is going to find that he has gravely miscalculated.”

Watch: Boris Johnson to unveil ‘first barrage’ of sanctions against Russia