The logo of Aramco is displayed as security personnel stand, before the start of a press conference by Aramco at the Plaza Conference Center in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, in this 2019 file photo. Reuters-Yonhap
LONDON/HOUSTON — Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is increasing shipments from the Red Sea, but the volumes are far from enough to offset the drop from the crisis-hit Strait of Hormuz, shipping data showed.
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf producers - the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq - have halted Hormuz shipments since Saturday after the United States and Israel attacked Iran and Tehran retaliated with drone and missile strikes.
With hundreds of vessels now stuck near the strait, Aramco has told some buyers to load cargoes at the Red Sea port of Yanbu, sources said.
The terminal loaded 9.4 million barrels, or 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd), in the first five days of March, up about 60 percent from 1.1 million bpd in February and 1.3 million bpd in January, according to LSEG data.
Saudi Arabia exports over 7 million bpd, of which around 6 million bpd pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The kingdom can, in theory, reroute up to 5 million bpd to the Red Sea via the East-West pipeline.
The Red Sea port could handle in excess of 4.5 million bpd, but rarely loaded more than 2.5 million bpd, traders said, and the pipeline is mainly designed to transport Arab Light, one of several crude grades the kingdom produces.
The Red Sea route also carries risks from Houthi forces, whose attacks disrupted shipping during the Israel-Gaza war.
Some tanker fixtures for Yanbu failed due to high freight rates and security risks, traders and ship brokers said. One such was tanker Pantanassa, which had been due to load at Yanbu on March 28 and 29 to deliver oil to South Korea.
Around 10 tankers are expected to call at Yanbu, according to Kpler data. Deals for at least four more tankers were being fixed on Wednesday and Thursday, shipping sources said.
Source: Korea Times News
