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Market Chatter: Saudi Arabia Seeks To Restore Half Of Key Oil Pipeline Capacity Within Days

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Saudi Arabia is seeking to restore about half the capacity of its East-West oil pipeline within days after it was halted following drone attacks, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Saudi Aramco is working to bypass a damaged section of the pipeline, with full capacity targeted in about six weeks, the report said.

The shutdown has caused delays for European customers and pushed up regional crude prices, while refiners have sought replacement cargoes, Bloomberg reported.

Aramco has also sold about 20 million barrels to Asian refiners for September and October pickup, according to traders cited by the report.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

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HKG:0852
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Update: Market Chatter: Saudi Arabia Reportedly Tells European Oil Buyers of Shipment Cancellations

(Updates with Saudi Aramco's statement)Saudi Arabia told its buyers in Europe that some crude oil cargoes due for shipment in late September will be cancelled, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing three sources.The cancellation follows Saudi Arabia's recent decision to close the East-West pipeline, seen as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, in the wake of an attack.The Middle Eastern country's state-owned oil giant Saudi Arabian Oil Co (SASE:2222), d/b/a Saudi Aramco, declined to comment when reached by.(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

SASE:2222
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Market Chatter: US-to-Asia Crude Shipping Costs Hit Record High

The cost of shipping US crude to Asia has surged to a record high amid escalating disruptions to Middle East supplies, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing Baltic Exchange data.It cost about $44.8 million to hire a very large crude carrier to move 2 million barrels of crude from the US Gulf Coast to China as of Tuesday, an all-time high, and up sharply from $39 million a day earlier, the report said, adding that before the war in Iran broke out in late February, the cost was about $17.8 million.The report said Saudi Arabia closed its East-West pipeline this week, the primary route the kingdom had used to bypass disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, making US crude supplies even more critical to global energy flows.Buyers in Asia are likely to keep absorbing the elevated shipping costs as long as West Texas Intermediate delivered into Asia remains cheaper than competing cargoes such as UAE's Murban, according to the report. Citing data from research firm Kpler, Bloomberg said six VLCCs are already set to load crude from the US Gulf Coast for Asia in October.Baltic Exchange did not immediately respond to a request for comment from.(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)