Saudi March crude exports halve on-month

Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports fell by half in March after Iran effectively prevented tankers from leaving the Persian Gulf, forcing the kingdom to reroute flows to its west coast.Shipments averaged 3.33 million barrels a day during the month, tanker tracking data show. The drop would have been much bigger if Saudi Arabia hadn't been able to divert crude to export terminals on the Red Sea.The country is a vital source of oil supply for the world, providing about one in every six barrels of crude hauled by tankers. Markets have been watching its ability to keep flows moving after Iran effectively closed access to the open seas for Mideast exporters.Also read | Donald Trump’s NATO threat could be India’s biggest defence breakAverage crude shipments were 6.66 million barrels a day in February, tracking data show. Figures for both months exclude cargoes that were loaded onto vessels but remain stranded in the Persian Gulf.Following the start of the war, Riyadh quickly diverted crude from Gulf export terminals into its East-West pipeline, which can carry about 7 million barrels a day from oil fields in the east of the country to refineries and ports on the Red Sea, a distance of almost 750 miles.When the line's running at capacity, about 5 million barrels a day is available at Yanbu for export. The rest is supplied to refineries around Riyadh and along the kingdom's western coast, or used in power generation and water desalination plants on the Red Sea.Also read | US to leave Iran 'pretty quickly' and return if needed, says TrumpSaudi Arabia swiftly boosted flows through the West Asia conduit to capacity and a flotilla of supertankers gathered in the Red Sea to haul the barrels, mostly to customers in Asia. By late March, shipments to foreign buyers from the two terminals at Yanbu were running close to 5 million barrels a day. Cargoes were also being sent along the coast to domestic users.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/Yn7Zhx4