Saudi Arabia Shifts Crude Oil Supplies via Oman Amid Pipeline Attacks

Saudi Arabia has found an alternative route to supply crude oil to Asian refiners after drone attacks damaged its key East-West pipeline to the Red Sea. The country is offering more crude oil through ship-to-ship transfers off Oman's Sohar port, a move that comes after Saudi Aramco shut down the pipeline last Friday.

The Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) has offered Arab Light, Arab Medium, and Arab Heavy crude to Asian term buyers for loading off Sohar. This is not the first time such an offer has been made, with at least two similar offers in recent weeks. The move aims to maintain oil supplies to Asia despite the pipeline damage.

Ras Tanura and Juaymah ports have seen a significant increase in Saudi crude loadings over the past week, with volumes doubling to about 4 million barrels per day. Four very large crude carriers capable of carrying 8 million barrels were loading at Ras Tanura on Wednesday, according to ship-tracking data.