Saudi Arabia Offers More Crude via Oman Loading After Pipeline Attacks
Saudi Aramco is offering extra crude loadings to Asian refiners via ship-to-ship transfer off Oman's Sohar port after drone attacks damaged its Red Sea pipeline.
Saudi Arabia is offering additional crude oil loadings to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfers off Oman's Sohar port, according to people familiar with the matter, after drone attacks damaged the kingdom's key oil pipeline to the Red Sea.
State oil company Saudi Aramco has made its flagship Arab Light grade available to term buyers in Asia, along with Arab Medium and Arab Heavy, for loading off Sohar, which lies outside the Strait of Hormuz. The offers suggest Aramco is moving more crude out of the Gulf for onward transfer beyond the waterway. In recent weeks, the company had already made at least two similar offers of Arab Medium and Arab Heavy to Asian buyers. Aramco declined to comment.
Over the past week, Saudi Arabia has doubled daily crude loadings at its Ras Tanura and Juaymah terminals inside the Gulf to about two very large crude carriers, equivalent to 4 million barrels, according to satellite tracking by consultancy Energy Aspects. Separate ship-tracking data from Kpler showed four VLCCs capable of carrying a combined 8 million barrels loading at Ras Tanura on Wednesday.
The rise in loadings and volumes on offer comes as other Gulf producers also provide more crude for loading outside the Strait of Hormuz after securing vessels to shuttle supplies through the waterway, often with their tracking signals switched off. Buyers declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, has relied on its East-West pipeline to divert crude to the Red Sea port of Yanbu for export since the Iran war severely curtailed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The kingdom shut the pipeline on Friday after damage from drone attacks, sending global oil benchmarks to multi-month highs this week.
At least one Asian buyer with cargoes scheduled to load this month said it had received a notice from Aramco that shipments from Yanbu would be delayed and rescheduled. The notice did not specify the length of the delay. Saudi Arabia also informed European customers that some September-loading crude cargoes will be cancelled, while loadings at Yanbu have been suspended, trading and shipping sources said on Tuesday.