Aramco offers more spot oil cargoes to Europe after East-West pipeline resumes

Saudi Aramco has offered spot oil cargoes for sale to European buyers for this month and next, signaling the company's efforts to make up for supply lost due to the closure of a major export pipeline.

According to Asharq Bloomberg, a source said Aramco offered cargoes for late October loading earlier this month, before announcing additional supplies available for November delivery last week.

The source added that the October cargoes were offered at a discount to Aramco's official selling price, with loading options from either the Mediterranean port of Sidi Kerir or Yanbu on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast.

Earlier, Aramco had informed European refineries that they would not receive shipments under long-term contracts in October, following an attack on the main pipeline linking the east and west of the Kingdom, which disrupted exports from Yanbu on the Red Sea.

The pipeline has since resumed operations, enabling Aramco to increase exports and help ease supply shortages in the European market.

This month, the company notified European refiners that they would receive their full contracted volumes for November, according to other people familiar with the matter.

The increase in Saudi supplies has contributed to a decline in prices for some crude grades in Europe this week, according to market traders.

Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser told Al Arabiya Business in an interview that the company is currently working to boost its export capacity by raising the East-West pipeline's throughput from 7 million barrels per day to 10 million barrels per day, in addition to exploring new routes. He noted that engineering work on these projects began in the early days of the crisis.

Regarding global storage plans, Nasser explained that Aramco has the largest external storage capacity among energy companies, with facilities in South Korea, Japan, the Netherlands, and Sidi Kerir. He added that the company is working with partners to double its storage capacity, especially in Asia, its largest market.

According to Asharq Bloomberg, oil exports from the Middle East have generally risen to levels close to those seen before the US-Iran conflict, despite ongoing attacks on key infrastructure and oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz.