Saudi Aramco seeks dual Gulf, Red Sea buyer plans amid Iran crisis, sources say

SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI: Saudi Aramco has asked buyers in Asia to offer April crude oil loading plans for both its main Gulf export terminal of Ras Tanura and Yanbu on the Red Sea as war in Iran disrupts exports, multiple sources said.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz at the southern end of the Gulf near Iran remains largely halted, forcing producers including Saudi Arabia to adjust their export plans and output.

For April-loading cargoes, Aramco asked Asian buyers to submit nomination plans for both Ras Tanura and Yanbu, thesources said. The Yanbu option applies only to the purchase of Arab Light crude.

Aramco has also extended the deadline for buyers to submit their nominations until Friday, two of the sources said.

Allocations for Asia are typically released around the 10th of each month. They are watched by traders as an indicator of demand in the world’s largest crude-importing region.

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Aramco declined to comment.

The world’s top oil exporter has been rerouting some of its export-bound crude by pipeline to Yanbu to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.

Yanbu loadings averaged 2.2 million bpd in the first nine days of March, up from 1.1 million bpd in February, LSEG data showed.

Saudi Arabia was exporting around 6 million bpd through the Strait of Hormuz before the war began.