Following incidents in the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia has intensified crude oil exports through its eastern ports in the Persian Gulf. This was revealed by satellite imagery and shipping data.
According to the data, on Sunday, September 20, Saudi Aramco loaded approximately 1.4 million barrels of crude oil onto seven large tankers in the Middle East region.
Satellite photos taken by Reuters showed seven large oil tankers near the major port of Ras Tanura in Saudi Arabia. Data from TankerTrackers.com indicates an acceleration of loading at Persian Gulf terminals, suggesting an improvement in Saudi Arabia's oil exports.
The expectation of increased supplies led to a decrease in crude oil prices on the international market. On Monday, the global Brent Crude standard fell below $100 per barrel for the first time since September 9. Nevertheless, a representative of Saudi Aramco declined to comment on this issue.
It should be noted that on September 13, Saudi Arabia had to halt its 'East-West' pipeline system following drone attacks. This resulted in a complete stop of crude oil exports from the Yanbu port in the Red Sea. Consequently, Aramco canceled several contracts for selling crude oil to European buyers.
However, the company significantly increased crude oil supplies to Asian markets through its eastern ports in the Strait of Hormuz. JP Morgan analysts noted in a report dated September 18 that satellite data shows the flow of Saudi oil through the Strait of Hormuz averaged 2.9 million barrels per day over the last six days, compared to 700 thousand barrels per day in August.
According to trade sources, Saudi Arabia sold about 60 million barrels of crude oil from Ras Tanura for loading into the port of Sohar, Oman, via ship-to-ship transfer during the current and next month.