Saudi Aramco Suspends Crude Deliveries to European Refiners
Saudi Aramco has informed European refiners that they will not receive any crude oil in October due to an attack on the kingdom's key pipeline to the Red Sea, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The decision affects all European buyers, who typically receive Saudi crude under term contracts. The East-West pipeline, also known as Petroline, was shut down after being targeted by drones last week.
Saudi Arabia expects to resume partial operations on the pipeline within days and return to full capacity within six weeks. However, this will not meet the usual demand for Saudi crude from European refiners.
Prominent among those affected is Polish refiner Orlen, which has issued over 10 tenders since Friday to secure replacement barrels. European members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development imported an average of 577,000 barrels per day of Saudi crude in June, according to the International Energy Agency's latest Oil Market Report.