Aramco sells 60 million barrels of oil for ship-to-ship loading as buyers turn to Oman’s “lifeline route”

Saudi Arabia has sold around 60 million barrels of crude oil from its Persian Gulf port of Ras Tanura for loading onto tankers via ship-to-ship transfers, a British media outlet reported on Friday, according to an Al Jazeera update.

The partial recovery of exports by the state giant Saudi Aramco from inside the Gulf has eased global supply anxiety, with Chinese and South Korean refiners among the main buyers of spot supplies, while some volumes remain unsold.

The development comes as the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed and the Bab al-Mandab is under the control of Iran-backed Houthis — forcing buyers to turn to Oman’s “lifeline route” for Gulf crude.

Despite the relief, oil prices fell 2 percent on Friday, the third straight session of losses, as easing concerns over Saudi supply disruptions outweighed anxiety about a wider conflict in the Middle East.

Source: Al Jazeera