Saudi Aramco resumed oil loading operations on Friday at its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf after an almost four-month halt, shipping data from LSEG showed.
Oil was loaded on to two very large crude carriers at the terminal, while another waited nearby, the data showed. Each vessel is capable of carrying two million barrels of oil. Saudi Aramco could not be immediately reached for comment outside office hours.
Ras Tanura, on Saudi Arabia's Gulf coast, hosts one of the world’s largest oil export terminals and a major refining facility. The port handles a significant share of Saudi crude exports, with cargoes typically heading to markets in Europe and Asia, including China, Japan and South Korea.
Operations at the refinery were briefly halted after a fire broke out following a drone attack in early March.
Aramco last loaded cargo from Ras Tanura as part of a shipment to be sent to China on March 8, the LSEG data showed. The kingdom had to divert all exports to the Red Sea port of Yanbu after Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz during its war with the US and Israel, preventing ships from leaving or entering the Gulf.
Cumulative oil supply losses from producers in the Middle East exceeded 1.3 billion barrels owing to the closure of the strait, the International Energy Agency estimated in a report this week. Hydrocarbon flows through the waterway dropped from about 20 million barrels per day before the conflict to an average of 2.7 million bpd in March, April and May.
But many producers in the Gulf used alternatives to skirt the blocked strait and continue to meet their export commitments to clients, predominantly in the Asian markets. Saudi Arabia, Opec’s largest oil producer and the biggest Arab economy, increased crude oil flows through its East-West pipeline for export using its Yanbu port.
The kingdom’s oil exports from Yanbu increased from two million bpd before the outbreak of the war to more than five million bpd in early June. "Saudi Arabia also boosted deliveries from stocks held overseas,” the IEA said.
Middle Eastern producers are now rapidly increasing output and exports after the US and Iran agreed to an interim deal to halt the war. While talks between Tehran and Washington continue “the situation nonetheless remains highly unpredictable, with major strains in large parts of the market and uncertainty over how the peace talks will play out”, the IEA analysts said.
A cargo ship was attacked as it attempted to pass through the strait close to the Omani coast on Thursday, UK Maritime Trade Operations said. An operation to escort ships through the strait was paused after the attack, reigniting concerns about whether the preliminary deal will hold.
Two US officials told Reuters that Iran fired on the ship, while Iranian officials said vessels that refuse to sail on routes Tehran has set would not be guaranteed safe passage.
