Red Sea pipeline strike abruptly cuts Saudi crude supplies to Europe
European refiners typically buy Saudi crude under term contracts that
guarantee monthly supplies, but Aramco has informed customers that next month's
deliveries will not proceed, the report said.
Saudi Arabia earlier informed European customers that some crude cargoes
would be cancelled after drone attacks forced the shutdown of its East-West
pipeline, damaging three pumping stations and disrupting oil loadings at the
Red Sea port of Yanbu. The disruption
has prompted customers including Poland's Orlen to seek alternative crude
supplies, with traders saying the refiner bought North Sea grades to replace
disrupted Saudi imports. Reuters
could not verify the report. Aramco is working to
partially restart the pipeline within days and return it to full capacity
within six weeks, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the
matter. Separately, Saudi Aramco has boosted crude exports from the Persian Gulf
through
ship-to-ship transfers off Oman's Sohar port to help offset volumes lost from reduced Red Sea
shipments.
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