State-controlled Saudi Aramco has told some Asian refiners that they can soon get Saudi crude from the Red Sea port of Yanbu, market sources said, as the Saudi 7mn b/d East-West crude pipeline ramps back up.
Aramco's East-West pipeline to Yanbu was shut down after an attack on 10 September, halting around 2.5mn b/d of Saudi crude loadings from the port — Saudi Arabia's only alternative export route outside the strait of Hormuz.
Aramco has yet to confirm the pipeline's restart. But it has told some of its customers that crude loadings from Yanbu will soon resume following a ramping up of the pipeline, market sources told Argus on 23 September.
An Asian customer recently loaded Saudi crude at Yanbu, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. But some customers said they were still waiting for updates from Aramco on when they could load their term volumes from Yanbu or Sidi Kerir on Egypt's Mediterranean coast, where some Saudi exports to Asia have been redirected.
Aramco recently appeared to be trying to maximise exports from Ras Tanura port within the Mideast Gulf.
Aramco will send at least 56mn bl of crude through the strait of Hormuz in September and October to Asia-Pacific buyers following a recent series of spot sales to key Asian customers, after the East-West pipeline outage restricted its exports from the Red Sea. Most buyers will load their cargoes via ship-to-ship transfers near Fujairah or Sohar in September and October, while some bought their cargoes on a delivered basis.
The prospect that Saudi Arabia will soon be able to export from both Ras Tanura and Yanbu has eased market fears of a supply crunch that first emerged when the East-West pipeline was taken off line, sending oil prices down on 22 September.
The extended shutdown of the pipeline recently spurred rare purchases of US medium sour Alaskan North Slope crude among northeast Asian refiners, as they sought to secure available alternatives.
