Traders say Aramco has informally told several Asian refiners they will soon be
able to load cargoes at Yanbu on the Red Sea. At least three refiners received
informal assurances from Aramco executives about shipments but have not been
given formal notices or a specific timetable. Yanbu loadings were almost
entirely halted after the east‑west pipeline was shut on Sept. 10 following
drone attacks launched from Iraq; the pipeline had been delivering about 4 mln
b/d to the port. A source last week said Saudi Arabia was seeking to restore
roughly half the pipeline’s capacity within days, but Aramco has not issued an
update.
