Saudi Arabia has sold about 60 million barrels of crude from its Ras Tanura port inside the Strait of Hormuz for loading via ship-to-ship transfer at the Omani port of Sohar this month and next, trade sources have said.
The rebound in Saudi oil exports from inside the Gulf has cooled global oil prices as it could make up for some of the volume lost at its Red Sea port of Yanbu, where exports have slowed after the East-West pipeline was attacked by Yemeni Houthis.
Chinese and South Korean refiners are among the top buyers of the spot supplies, while some volumes will be going to India and Japan, the sources said.
Saudi Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of office hours.
Global oil futures fell more than $1 a barrel on reports that Saudi Arabia was seeking to return about half the capacity of its East-West oil pipeline within days and the nation was offering more crude cargoes to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfers off Oman’s port of Sohar.
