Summary
- Saudi Arabia has restarted oil tanker loadings from its Red Sea port of Yanbu after operations resumed on the East-West Pipeline, according to trade sources and shipping data, strengthening expectations for oil exports from the Middle East.
- “ESA satellite imagery captured over the Red Sea on September 27 shows Saudi Arabia loading nearly 10 million barrels of crude oil at Yanbu and Al Muajjiz,” vessel-tracking company TankerTrackers.com said in a post on X on Tuesday.
- The resumption of crude loading at Yanbu added to indications of increased Middle East oil shipments following a recovery in exports through the Strait of Hormuz.
The return of Yanbu loadings, which were suspended earlier this month following a drone strike on the pipeline, put pressure on global oil prices on Monday as it added to indications of rising flows from the Middle East, where the US conflict with Iran has disrupted oil shipments.
Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil giant, informed customers on Monday evening about its October loading programme from Yanbu, according to an Asian refining source. A refiner loaded a shipment from the port late last week.
Drone attacks that Saudi Arabia blamed on the Houthis forced the kingdom to shut the pipeline on September 11, stopping crude exports from Yanbu. Pipeline operations resumed last Tuesday.
Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Oil products also being loaded, tracker says
Satellite images from the European Space Agency also indicated that loading activity had resumed.
“ESA satellite imagery captured over the Red Sea on September 27 shows Saudi Arabia loading nearly 10 million barrels of crude oil at Yanbu and Al Muajjiz,” vessel-tracking company TankerTrackers.com said in a post on X on Tuesday.
Al Muajjiz is a terminal located south of Yanbu.
“We also observed refined-product loadings. In total, we visually identified 40 tankers, regardless of their activity or proximity to these terminals.”
Two trade sources separately estimated that crude loadings from Yanbu had reached around two million barrels per day since last week.
An industry source estimated oil throughput through the pipeline at about 2 million barrels per day, while ship-tracking company Kpler put the figure at approximately 2.65 million bpd. Both figures remain well below the pipeline’s 7 million bpd capacity.
Kpler said throughput is expected to increase to between 3 million and 4 million bpd in the coming days. However, a complete return to the pre-attack level of around 5.5 million bpd could take another month, according to a note issued by the company on Monday.
Crude inventories at the Yanbu terminal increased by roughly one million barrels on September 22, marking the first rise since the attack, Kpler data showed.
The resumption of crude loading at Yanbu added to indications of increased Middle East oil shipments following a recovery in exports through the Strait of Hormuz.
Crude loadings at Egypt’s Sidi Kerir resumed on September 22 after a 10-day pause, although tankers remain waiting offshore as restrictions continue to limit access for a large portion of the commercial fleet, Kpler said in its note.
