STOCKS | Saudi Aramco Red Sea Refinery Becomes Main Export Route Amid Tanker Shortage

According to Jin10, Vitol CEO Russell Hardy and several traders attending a conference in Singapore said refined-product exports through the Strait of Hormuz are recovering slowly, but not fast enough to stop fuel prices from surging. The region is currently shipping at least 1 million barrels of refined products a day through the disputed waterway, according to traders at the Singapore meeting, while Vortexa data showed a similar level versus about 4 million barrels a day before the war, excluding liquefied petroleum gas. Traders said the slower recovery in fuel shipments partly reflects difficulty finding tankers to load cargoes. According to two people familiar with the company's operations, Saudi Aramco exports about 500,000 barrels of refined products a day, but most of that comes from its Red Sea coastal refinery. They said the company has so far shipped little fuel from Ras Tanura, its main export point in the Persian Gulf, because it remains difficult to charter tankers willing to serve the route. Saudi Arabia's exports are also under pressure because of Houthi threats in the Red Sea.