Saudi Arabia resumes Yanbu oil loading after pipeline restart

Saudi Arabia has recommenced oil exports from its Red Sea port of Yanbu after restoring operations on the East-West Pipeline, according to trade sources and shipping data. The pipeline had been halted earlier this month following a drone attack, which weighed on global oil prices as it indicated an increase in Middle East oil flows.

Saudi Aramco, the state oil giant, notified customers of its October loading schedule from Yanbu on Monday evening. The refinery had already loaded a cargo from the port the previous day. The drone attacks, attributed by Saudi Arabia to Iraqi militias, led to the pipeline shutdown on September 11, halting crude exports from Yanbu.

Operations resumed on the pipeline last Tuesday. Additionally, oil products were also being loaded, as confirmed by European Space Agency satellite images. According to vessel-tracking firm TankerTrackers, nearly 10 million barrels of crude oil were loaded at Yanbu and Al Muajjiz, a terminal south of the port. Refined-product loadings were also observed, with a total of 40 tankers identified.

Trade sources estimated crude loadings from Yanbu to be around 2 million barrels per day since last week, while an industry source put the figure at about 2.65 million bpd. The pipeline's full capacity is 7 million bpd, and throughput is expected to rise to between 3 million and 4 million bpd in the coming days. A complete return to the pre-attack rate of roughly 5.5 million bpd may take another month.

Crude inventories at the Yanbu terminal increased by approximately 1 million barrels on September 22, the first build since the attack.