Saudi Arabia reroutes oil exports as Red Sea and Hormuz shipping face threats

Saudi Arabia increased crude shipments through the Strait of Hormuz after pipeline attacks disrupted exports, with Aramco loading about 14 million barrels on seven tankers on Sunday. The kingdom shut its East-West oil pipeline on September 13, halting loadings at Yanbu port. The disruption led Aramco to cancel some crude sales to European clients while increasing sales to Asia from eastern ports. JP Morgan analysts said Saudi oil moving through Hormuz averaged 2.9 million barrels per day over six days, up from 700,000 bpd in August. Overall traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains sharply lower due to ongoing Gulf tensions, with 17 commodity vessels transiting over the weekend versus 37 a week earlier. Middle East chaos has disrupted global oil supplies for over six months without resolution.