Mideast oil exports rebound in September as Saudi Arabia boosts shipments

Crude oil exports from key Middle East producers rebounded in September to 16.328 million barrels per day (bpd), the highest since the US-Israeli war on Iran started in late February, data from Kpler showed on Monday, as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates boosted exports.

The rebound came following a recovery in exports via the Strait of Hormuz, which were set to hit about 9.719 million bpd this month, as Saudi Arabia diverted oil exports from the Red Sea port of Yanbu following attacks that damaged its East-West pipeline, the preliminary data showed.

While exports from the region – which includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Iran – have rebounded, they were still about 3.2 million bpd down from 19.513 million bpd in February, according to Kpler.

The tally includes cargo transits via the Strait of Hormuz including ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman, shipments from the UAE’s Fujairah and Oman terminals outside the Strait of Hormuz and exports via the Red Sea.

“Kpler estimates Middle East crude exports at just under 80% of pre-conflict levels,” it said in a Monday note.

Top regional exporter Saudi Arabia was on track to ship about 5.4 million bpd this month, rebounding from 2.446 million bpd in August, the data showed.

September shipments from Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura port in the Gulf jumped to about 3.25 million bpd, from 929,000 bpd in August, but still lower than the 6.411 million bpd in February, according to the data.

A total of 19 very large crude carriers (VLCCs), carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi oil each, exited the Strait of Hormuz last week, Kpler data showed.

The figures exclude any vessels that might have crossed the strait with their Automatic Identification System transponders turned off to avoid detection.

Before the Iran war started on Feb 28, the strait typically handled about 125 large commercial vessels per day, including tankers, gas carriers, bulkers and container vessels, accounting for some 20% of the world’s daily crude oil and liquefied natural gas supply.

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.