Saudi Aramco is increasing crude oil shipments to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfers off Oman following damage to Saudi Arabia’s key East-West oil pipeline.
Aramco has offered Arab Light, Arab Medium and Arab Heavy crude to Asian term buyers for loading through ship-to-ship transfers near Sohar, outside the Strait of Hormuz. The company has made at least two similar offers in recent weeks, according to sources cited by Reuters.
The alternative loading arrangement allows Saudi crude to be moved from Gulf terminals for onward transfer outside the Strait, providing an additional route for supplies to Asian customers while the pipeline disruption affects Saudi export flows.
Saudi Arabia has also increased crude loadings at its Ras Tanura and Juaymah terminals. Satellite tracking cited by Reuters showed daily loadings at the two terminals had doubled to around four million barrels.
The East-West pipeline, which carries crude from Saudi Arabia’s eastern oilfields towards the Red Sea, was temporarily shut after drone attacks damaged pumping infrastructure. Reuters reported that three pumping stations were affected, with repairs potentially taking several weeks.
The disruption has prompted Saudi Arabia to seek alternative export routes while maintaining crude supplies to key Asian markets. Increased use of ship-to-ship transfers off Oman is therefore becoming an important part of the kingdom’s response to the pipeline outage.