Aramco boosts Gulf crude loadings after pipeline disruption
Aramco loaded roughly 14 million barrels of crude onto seven VLCCs in the Mideast Gulf on Sunday, shipping data shows, after an attack disrupted flows through the East-West pipeline.
Saudi state oil company Aramco loaded about 14 million barrels of crude onto seven very large crude carriers inside the Mideast Gulf on Sunday, according to tracking data, as the kingdom raised loadings from its Gulf export terminals following an attack that disrupted shipments through its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea.
Satellite imagery appeared to show seven tankers near Ras Tanura Port on Sunday, the same day the loadings were recorded.
An Aramco spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.
The increased activity at Gulf terminals points to a shift in how Saudi crude is being moved while the East-West pipeline remains affected by the attack. The pipeline normally carries crude across the country to the Red Sea, allowing exports to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
The seven VLCCs together account for the roughly 14 million barrels loaded on Sunday, the tracking data indicated. Each VLCC typically carries about two million barrels of crude.
Details of the attack on the pipeline and the extent of the disruption were not immediately available in the shipping data.