Saudi Aramco Bypasses Strait of Hormuz in Crude Oil Sales to China

Saudi Aramco has made a significant move to bypass the Strait of Hormuz by selling four million barrels of crude oil to Chinese refiners for loading through ship-to-ship transfers off Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.

The world's largest oil exporter offered Arab Medium and Arab Heavy crude cargoes on Monday for loading, which were secured through private negotiations with some Asian refiners.

PetroChina and Sinochem each purchased two million barrels of the heavier Saudi crude grades at premiums, according to trade sources. This development comes as Saudi Aramco resumed oil loading from inside the Strait of Hormuz last week and has more tankers waiting to load.