Saudi Arabia resumes oil shipments on the Red Sea

Saudi Arabia can no longer export oil in the east due to the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The west of the country is all the more important, but there are also major problems there after attacks on a pipeline. Now it is back in operation, but not at full capacity.

Saudi Arabia has resumed oil loadings from its Red Sea port of Janbu after resuming operations on the East-West pipeline. This emerges from information from traders and shipping data. The development improves the outlook for oil exports from the Middle East. Drone strikes forced the kingdom to shut down the pipeline and halt crude oil exports from Janbu on September 11. Saudi Arabia blamed Iraqi militias for the attacks.

State oil giant Saudi Aramco has informed its customers about October's loading schedule from Janbu, an Asian refinery insider said. There was no immediate comment from Aramco.

The resumption of loadings at Janbu is expected to support crude oil exports from the Middle East. The U.S. war with Iran has severely restricted supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, which carried a fifth of the world's oil before the conflict.

The website TankerTrackers.com, which provides information about the transportation and storage of crude oil, wrote on the X platform on Tuesday that satellite images showed the loading of almost ten million barrels of crude oil in Janbu. Two people familiar with the matter estimated crude shipments from Janbu at about 2 million barrels a day since last week. Analysts expect the pipeline could return to its full capacity of around 5.5 million barrels per day in about a month.