Saudi Arabia offers Red Sea oil transport option to crude buyers in response to the Strait of Hormuz crisis

Golden Ten Data reported on March 16 that, given the possibility of prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia is offering its long-term crude oil customers the option to receive April oil supplies via the Yanbu port on the Red Sea. According to traders who have received notification from Saudi Aramco, due to limited pipeline transport capacity to the port, buyers choosing Yanbu can only receive a portion of their contracted supply each month. Another option is to receive oil from the Persian Gulf, but if the strait remains closed, there is a risk of not receiving any oil at all. Traders stated that if the war continues, oil loaded at Yanbu and shipped to Asia is likely to be sold on a delivered basis, meaning Saudi Aramco would be responsible for transportation logistics, rather than the usual shipment method where customers arrange their own shipping. They noted that currently, the oil supplied to refiners via Yanbu is limited to the Arab Light crude variety.