Saudis tell Asian refiners they can soon pick up oil from Yanbu
Bloomberg (Sept 22): Several Asian refiners have been told informally by Saudi Aramco they will soon be able to pick up oil from the Red Sea port of Yanbu, according to traders familiar with the matter.
At least three fuel processors have been given informal assurances about the loadings from executives at the state-run company, rather than official notices, the traders said, asking not to be named as they are not authorised to speak to media. No timelines were given, they said.
Loadings from Yanbu have been all-but-halted since the East-West pipeline, which was carrying about four million barrels of oil a day to the port, was closed after being attacked by drones launched from Iraq on Sept 10. Saudi Arabia was seeking to return about half the capacity within days, a person familiar told Bloomberg late last week, although there have been no recent updates from Aramco.
Saudi Aramco declined to comment.
Some of the Asian refiners contacted by Aramco have already missed their scheduled loading dates at Yanbu due to the closure of the pipeline and have vessels in waters near the port or are heading there, the traders said.
Since the pipeline was attacked, the Saudis have increased exports to Asia from Ras Tanura in the Persian Gulf. This crude can be picked up via ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman after it has traversed the contested Strait of Hormuz.
European, rather than Asian, customers have been most affected by the lack of activity at Yanbu. Aramco told at least two European refiners last week that they would be allocated no oil under long-term agreements in October due to the attacks on the pipeline and that the decision applied to all of the continent’s buyers.
