Saudi Aramco Halts Crude Deliveries Amid Ongoing Supply Disruptions

Saudi Aramco has temporarily halted crude oil deliveries to at least two European customers for October, due to attacks on the kingdom's oil infrastructure disrupting one of its key export routes around the Strait of Hormuz.

The state-owned oil giant informed at least two European refiners that they would receive no crude next month, according to Bloomberg. This move follows the shutdown of Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline after an attack damaged sections of the route last week.

The disruption has exposed the vulnerability of Saudi Arabia's efforts to rely on the Red Sea route as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. The kingdom's crude oil production plunged to 6.24 million barrels per day in August, its lowest reported level since 1990, amid the wider disruption to energy flows across the Persian Gulf following the US-Israeli war on Iran.