Saudi Arabia is set to send more jet fuel to Europe in June than prior to the Iran war when the Strait of Hormuz was open and ships were moving freely, data from analysts Kpler and Vortexa showed, Reuters reported on Tuesday, as the country leans heavily on its Red Sea export route.
Imports of jet fuel to the EU and UK from Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port in Red Sea were 118,000 barrels per day for the first week of June, the highest since August last year, Kpler data showed, while Vortexa's estimate was 140,000 b/d, according to Reuters.
The highest number this year according to Kpler data, was 77,000 b/d in January, prior to the Feb. 28 start of the Iran war.
The Middle East was the main supplier of jet fuel to Europe at 300,000 b/d in 2025, leaving the origin through the Strait of Hormuz that pushed vessels close to the Iranian coast.
Iran has threatened to attack vessels seeking to exit, effectively closing it since March.
Europe supplemented those volumes with further imports from India, Nigeria and the U.S., Reuters reported, citing Kpler, with consumption of about 550,000 bpd.
With Saudi Arabia's exports also flowing through the shuttered Strait, it is fortunate to have the Yanbu port on its western coast as a back-up and an east-west pipeline across the country to deliver supplies there for loading.
The Reuters article said that if these exports are sustained, they can help Europe close a gap between import and consumption.
This week however, Houthi rebels from Yemen, who had been attacking ships in the Red Sea prior to the Iran war, said they would seek to prevent exports of oil and gas leaving via this route.
The article said that Europe has increased its jet fuel imports from the US and Nigeria, with those origins together providing about 200,000 b/d in May. It added that European airlines have sought to dispel fears of a shortage of fuel that would affect peak summer travel.
The International Energy Agency previously said Europe could start seeing some of jet fuel by June, although European airlines have downplayed fears of a summer shortage.
In April, Germany's Lufthansa said it would trim 20,000 short-haul flights from its timetables but the picture looked harder to decipher when a month later, Ireland's Ryanair said in media reports that it had almost no concerns about fuel shortages.
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