Aramco offers more crude oil cargoes from Mediterranean amid Red Sea threats, sources say
- Aramco already supplies some customers in Europe and North America from Sidi Kerir
LONDON: Saudi Aramco has offered additional crude cargoes for loading from Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Sidi Kerir, according to five trading sources, as Houthi threats to Saudi shipping raise risks for southbound Red Sea exports through the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
The cargoes, which are shipped to Egypt’s Red Sea port of Ain Sukhna and then carried by the Suez-Mediterranean Pipeline to Sidi Kerir, are being offered on a spot basis, two of the sources said, supplementing supplies to Aramco’s term buyers.
While Aramco already supplies some customers in Europe and North America from Sidi Kerir, the additional volumes suggest the company is seeking greater flexibility in reaching its markets after Yemen-based Houthis vowed to attack Saudi crude exports travelling through the Bab el-Mandeb strait at the southern end of the Red Sea.
The growing belligerence of the Houthis against Saudi Arabia
Aramco declined to comment.
The Houthis said on Thursday they had attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, while Saudi state media later reported that one of the vessels caught fire following the assault.
Saudi Arabia has increased crude exports via its Red Sea port of Yanbu since the Iran war led to disruptions to Gulf exports via the Strait of Hormuz.
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