Saudi Aramco resumes oil loadings inside Strait of Hormuz

Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco resumed oil loading from inside the Strait of Hormuz last week and has additional tankers awaiting loading, shipping data and trade sources said.

The state energy giant also offered Asian refiners spot Arab Medium and Arab Heavy crude cargoes for loading through ship-to-ship transfers off Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates this month.

Resumed exports

Saudi Aramco had halted sales for weeks after attacks on its tanker fleet in the Strait of Hormuz during an escalation of the U.S.-Iran conflict last month.

The resumption of Saudi exports could help ease tight supplies of heavier crude grades, which produce more residue fuel for ships or can be further processed by refineries into fuels including gasoline and diesel.

Tankers and loading data

Three very large crude carriers — Malaysia Prosperity, Algeria Prosperity and Singapore Prosperity — loaded 2 million barrels of crude each at the Juaymah and Ras Tanura terminals between August 12 and 16.

Data from shiptrackers Vortexa and Kpler showed a three-week gap since the previous loading at the ports. It was not immediately clear which crude grades the tankers were carrying.

Saudi Aramco declined to comment, while Sinokor, which owns the tankers, did not respond to a request for comment.

Further shipments

Provisional Kpler data showed that six more very large crude carriers could load Saudi oil from inside the strait later this month.

Traders said Saudi Aramco could use Saudi tankers for transit through Hormuz in addition to Sinokor vessels.

LSEG shipping data showed on Tuesday that seven VLCCs owned by Saudi-based operator Bahri were floating off the United Arab Emirates and Oman, while two more were heading to Fujairah.