Saudi Oil Disruption Sends Europe Scrambling for Alternatives

Saudi Arabia's key East-West pipeline was damaged in an attack last week, forcing the shutdown of oil loadings at the Red Sea port of Yanbu and disrupting crude supplies to European refiners. Saudi Aramco has informed at least two European refining customers that deliveries planned for next month will not proceed.

Typically, European refiners buy Saudi crude under contracts guaranteeing monthly supplies. However, due to the pipeline disruption, Aramco has cancelled these deliveries, according to Bloomberg News. To replace the disrupted imports, Poland's Orlen has bought North Sea crude from traders.

Aramco is working to partially restart the pipeline within days and restore it to full capacity within six weeks. The company has also increased crude exports through the Gulf using ship-to-ship transfers off Oman's Sohar port to offset reduced shipments through the Red Sea.