Saudi Oil Exports Recover After Pipeline Attack

Saudi Arabia has increased oil exports from its Gulf terminals after a pipeline attack disrupted shipments. Data from TankerTrackers.com shows that seven Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) loaded about 14 million barrels of crude oil on Sunday. This move suggests a partial recovery in Saudi oil supplies, which weighed on oil prices, pushing the Brent benchmark below $100 per barrel for the first time since September 9.

The pipeline attack forced Saudi Arabia to shut its east-west oil pipeline on September 13, halting crude loadings at the Yanbu oil port. As a result, Aramco cancelled some crude cargo sales to European clients and boosted sales to Asia for crude loaded at eastern ports inside the Strait of Hormuz.

JPMorgan analysts noted that satellite data indicated Saudi oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz averaged 2.9 million barrels per day over the past six days, up from just 700,000 bpd in August. The kingdom sold about 60 million barrels of crude from its Ras Tanura port inside the Strait of Hormuz for loading via ship-to-ship transfer at the Omani port of Sohar this month and next.