Ras Tanura loadings spike after East-West pipeline disruption - Kpler

Crude oil loadings at Saudi Arabia’s ports of Ras Tanura and Juaymah have surged following disruptions to the 1,200 km East-West Pipeline, market intelligence firm Kpler said.

IMAGE: Tugboats docked at the Yanbu port in Saudi Arabia, with the cityscape in the background. Getty Images

Six very large crude carriers (VLCC) loaded about 12 million bbls at Ras Tanura and Juaymah on 21 September, according to Kpler.

The single-day loading has highlighted the speed at which crude flows are adapting to pressure around Hormuz, Kpler noted.

Of these six vessels, a few had already recorded ship-to-ship transfers, or port calls, over the previous six weeks with disabled Automatic Identification System (AIS) transmitters, Kpler said.

The pattern suggests that the latest rerouting “sits on top of a longer-running pattern of changing vessel behaviour,” amid the ongoing war in the Middle East, which has choked crude oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz and forced vessels to navigate mounting security risks and soaring insurance costs, Kpler added.

East-West Pipeline resumes some operation

Riyadh has restarted operations at its East-West oil pipeline, bringing back some flow through the 1,200 km route, Reuters reported. The news has put some downward pressure on Brent crude’s price.

The pipeline is running at a low rate currently, with Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company Aramco working to return the flows to full capacity, the report added.

Crude flows through the pipeline were disrupted after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militants launched multiple attacks earlier this month, choking Riyadh’s critical export route that funnels about 70% of its crude exports through the Red Sea terminal at Yanbu, to circumvent the Strait of Hormuz.

The pipeline has a total capacity of 7 million b/d. Reaching a rate of 40% of capacity will take ‌a ⁠couple of days and a full restart will take 6-8 weeks, Reuters reported, citing sources.

“The route… is expected to gradually restore lost export flows, potentially increasing global crude supplies in the coming weeks,” two analysts from ING Bank noted.

However, the market still faces persistent headwinds, with Saudi pipeline flows lingering well below normal levels and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remaining constrained.

By Aparupa Mazumder

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