Saudi Oil Flows Soar Amid Hormuz Crisis

Saudi Arabia's oil routes have been running at maximum capacity despite the ongoing crisis in the Hormuz Strait. The East-West Pipeline, which was forced offline by a drone attack earlier this week, has been restarted and is now operating at a reduced rate of nearly 40% of its full capacity.

According to sources familiar with the matter, three pumping stations were damaged in the attack, but Aramco aims to reach pre-attack levels within six to eight weeks. Meanwhile, oil traffic through the Red Sea has seen a significant increase, with Saudi crude moving at an average rate of 2.9 million barrels per day over the past six days.

Asian refiners have been able to secure replacement barrels from Ras Tanura, which are then transferred ship-to-ship near Sohar, largely to Asian buyers who would otherwise be stuck waiting in Yanbu. Japan's refiners say they have secured enough crude through November due to this arrangement.