Traders: Aramco to increase Hormuz shipments to 60 million barrels in Sept, Oct
Saudi Arabia has sold approximately 60 million barrels of crude from its Gulf port of Ras Tanura, located within the Strait of Hormuz, for loading through ship-to-ship transfer at the Omani port of Sohar during this month and the next, according to sources. The rebound in state oil company Saudi Aramco’s exports from within the Gulf to an average of 1 million to 1.5 million barrels per day, which is comparable to or slightly above August’s levels, has contributed to a cooling of global oil prices. This increase in exports may offset some of the volume lost at its Red Sea port of Yanbu, where export activities were hindered following the attack on the East-West pipeline.
Chinese and South Korean refiners are prominent purchasers of spot supplies, with additional volumes allocated to India and Japan, according to sources. Saudi Aramco did not provide an immediate response to a request for comment outside of office hours. Global oil futures declined by over $1 a barrel on Friday, following reports that Saudi Arabia aimed to restore approximately half of the East-West pipeline’s capacity within days.
Additionally, the nation was providing more crude cargoes to Asian refiners via ship-to-ship transfers off Sohar. The increased Gulf exports present a significant advantage for buyers in Asia, the primary market for Saudi Arabian crude, despite the fact that supertanker freight rates have reached a record high this week. The freight rate to charter a very large crude carrier to load 2 million barrels of oil in early October from Fujairah to Asia reached 800 Worldscale rate, as reported by a shipbroking firm.
On Friday, the Petroleum Association of Japan announced that the nation’s oil refiners have obtained adequate crude supplies through November, highlighting the ship-to-ship transfers taking place outside the Strait of Hormuz. “In some cases, oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz at Saudi Arabia’s risk before being transferred to us outside the Gulf. For that reason, supplies from Saudi Arabia have not ceased entirely,” PAJ President Shunichi Kito said in Tokyo.
