Saudi Arabia has resumed crude oil loadings from Yanbu after restarting the East-West Pipeline, signaling a gradual recovery in Middle East oil flows.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has resumed oil tanker loadings from the Red Sea port of Yanbu after operations restarted on the East-West Pipeline, according to trade sources and shipping data, adding to signs of recovering crude flows from the Middle East.
The return of Yanbu loadings comes after shipments were suspended earlier this month following drone attacks on the pipeline. The disruption contributed to pressure on global oil markets as conflict involving the United States and Iran affected regional energy shipments.
Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company, informed customers Monday evening about its October loading programme from Yanbu, according to an Asian refining source. A refinery customer also loaded a shipment from the port late last week.
Saudi Arabia blamed the Houthis for the drone attacks, which forced the kingdom to shut the pipeline on Sept. 11 and halt crude exports from Yanbu. Pipeline operations resumed last Tuesday.
Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Oil products also being loaded
Satellite imagery from the European Space Agency also indicated that loading activity had resumed at Yanbu and nearby terminals.
Tanker-tracking company TankerTrackers.com said in a post on X on Tuesday that ESA satellite imagery captured on Sept. 27 showed Saudi Arabia loading nearly 10 million barrels of crude oil at Yanbu and Al Muajjiz, a terminal south of Yanbu.
The company also reported refined-product loadings and said it had visually identified 40 tankers, regardless of their activity or proximity to the terminals.
Two trade sources separately estimated that crude loadings from Yanbu had reached about 2 million barrels per day since last week.
An industry source estimated oil throughput through the East-West Pipeline at about 2 million bpd, while ship-tracking company Kpler put the figure at approximately 2.65 million bpd. Both estimates remain below the pipeline’s stated capacity of 7 million bpd.
Kpler expects throughput to rise to between 3 million and 4 million bpd in the coming days. However, the company said a full recovery to the pre-attack level of about 5.5 million bpd could take another month.
Kpler data also showed that crude inventories at the Yanbu terminal rose by roughly 1 million barrels on Sept. 22, marking the first increase since the attack.
The resumption of Yanbu crude loading adds to signs of increased Middle East oil shipments following a recovery in exports through the Strait of Hormuz.
Crude loadings at Egypt’s Sidi Kerir terminal also resumed on Sept. 22 after a 10-day pause. However, Kpler said tankers remained offshore as restrictions continued to limit access for a large portion of the commercial fleet.
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