Asian Refiners Scramble for Crude Amid Middle East Supply Disruptions

A series of attacks in the Red Sea and Black Sea has disrupted oil shipments to Asia, causing Middle East crude premiums to surge. The attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have forced some Saudi oil shipments to be rerouted via a route that circles Africa, further disrupting supply flows.

The spot premium for Dubai crude to swaps doubled to $12.74 a barrel on Thursday, while Oman's premium climbed to $12.62, according to Reuters data. The premium for Abu Dhabi's flagship Murban crude surged to $19.04, the highest since April 7, due to tight supply for light-sour crude.

Saudi Aramco has offered additional crude cargoes for loading from Egypt's Mediterranean port of Sidi Kerir, according to five trading sources. Several Asian refiners are looking for cargoes and vessels loading from the Egyptian port, with South Korea's largest refiner SK Energy chartering a very large crude carrier (VLCC) to load 2 million barrels of crude.