Saudi Arabia has restarted oil tanker loadings from its Red Sea port of Yanbu, following the resumption of operations on the East-West pipeline, trade sources and shipping data reveal.
State-owned energy giant Saudi Aramco notified its customers on Monday regarding its October loading schedule for Yanbu, according to an Asian refining source. Additionally, a cargo was successfully loaded from the port late last week.
The loadings had been temporarily halted earlier this month after a drone attack targeted the pipeline, an incident that Saudi Arabia blamed on Iraqi militias. The key pipeline was shut down on September 11, with operations finally resuming last Tuesday.
Satellite imagery from the European Space Agency (ESA) confirmed the return of activity at Yanbu and the nearby Al Muajjiz terminal. Vessel-tracking firm TankerTrackers.com reported on X that ESA imagery captured over the Red Sea on September 27 showed Saudi Arabia loading nearly 10 million barrels of crude oil at the two terminals. The firm also observed refined-product loadings and identified approximately 40 tankers operating in the area.
Trade sources estimate that crude loadings from Yanbu have averaged about 2 million barrels per day since last week. An industry source noted that the pipeline's current throughput is matching this rate of 2 million barrels per day, which remains well below its total capacity of 7 million barrels per day.
Energy data firm Kpler expects flows to climb to between 3 and 4 million barrels per day in the coming days. However, restoring the pre-attack level of approximately 5.5 million barrels per day could take up to another month. Kpler also reported that crude inventories at the Yanbu terminal rose by roughly 1 million barrels on September 22, marking the first inventory increase since the drone strike.
This resumption of Yanbu loadings is part of a broader recovery in Middle East oil shipments, which have also seen an increase in exports through the Strait of Hormuz. Furthermore, crude loadings at Egypt’s Sidi Kerir terminal resumed on September 22 after a 10-day shutdown, though Kpler noted that tankers continue to queue offshore due to ongoing restrictions limiting access for much of the commercial fleet.
