Saudi Aramco Ramps Up Gulf Oil Exports Following East-West Pipeline Attack

Following a September 13 drone attack that forced the shutdown of Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline and halted exports at the Yanbu port on the Red Sea, Saudi Aramco redirected crude shipments through eastern terminals in the Mideast Gulf. Tracking data and satellite imagery showed Aramco loading approximately 14 million barrels of crude onto seven Very Large Crude Carriers near Ras Tanura port. To adapt to the pipeline disruption, Aramco canceled some European deliveries while expanding sales to Asian buyers and arranging ship-to-ship transfers off Oman. Signals of recovering Saudi supply weighed on energy markets, driving Brent crude benchmark prices below $100 per barrel for the first time since September 9.

// Background

A drone attack on September 13 forced the closure of Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline, cutting off crude transfers to Red Sea terminals and obliging the state oil firm to shift logistics to eastern Gulf facilities.

// Key Developments

• Saudi Aramco loaded roughly 14 million barrels of crude across seven supertankers in the Mideast Gulf.
• Drone strikes on September 13 shut down the kingdom's East-West Pipeline, disabling Red Sea loadings at Yanbu port.
• Aramco redirected trade by cutting European sales and expanding Asian deliveries via ports inside the Strait of Hormuz.
• Rising Saudi export expectations helped push Brent crude prices below $100 a barrel.