Saudi Oil Workaround Eases Supply Fears for WTI Crude

The price of November WTI crude oil futures retreated on Friday as Saudi Arabia's export workaround eased supply fears. At 0:51 GMT, the contract was trading at $96.35, up $0.49 or 0.51% for the week.

The market had been driven by concerns over a drone attack that damaged three pumping stations along the East-West pipeline, which normally carries 4-5 million barrels per day. The outage forced Saudi Arabia to rely on a waterway where traffic has already been severely disrupted.

However, with repair estimates ranging from a partial restart within days to five or six weeks of work, the market is now putting a smaller premium on the supply problem. Saudi Arabia began offering more crude to Asian refiners via the Sohar route, which pulled the contract back.