Saudi Aramco halts European crude supplies amid disruption to key oil route
Saudi Aramco has halted crude oil deliveries to at least two European customers for October, as attacks on the kingdom’s oil infrastructure disrupt one of its key export routes around the Strait of Hormuz.
The state-owned oil giant informed at least two European refiners that they would receive no crude next month, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The move follows the shutdown of Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline after an attack damaged sections of the route last week.
The pipeline carries crude from oil fields in eastern Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, providing the kingdom with an alternative export route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.
The disruption has exposed the vulnerability of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to rely on the Red Sea route as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest developments come after Yemeni forces announced a maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia on July 20, citing Riyadh’s ongoing attacks and siege against Yemen.
Saudi Arabia is also grappling with a sharp decline in oil production amid the wider disruption to energy flows across the Persian Gulf following the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The kingdom's crude oil production plunged to 6.24 million barrels per day in August, its lowest reported level since 1990, as the prolonged US-Iran war continued to disrupt energy flows across West Asia.
The sharp decline came after Saudi output fell by nearly 1.9 million barrels per day from July, when production stood at 8.1 million barrels per day, according to OPEC’s report last week.
Saudi production had been 7.1 million barrels per day in June before surging in July, only for the rebound to be sharply reversed the following month.
The production slump came despite plans by Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ members to increase output in August, underscoring the mounting disruption facing the kingdom’s oil sector.
Oil prices have remained above $100 a barrel amid continuing concerns over supply disruptions in the region following the US-Israeli war on Iran.
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