Saudi Aramco has asked its Asian buyers to submit crude oil loading plans for April from both its main Gulf export terminal at Ras Tanura Terminal and the Yanbu Port on the Red Sea, according to several sources.
The request comes as the war in Iran has disrupted regional oil exports. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — located at the southern end of the Gulf near Iran — remains largely halted, forcing producers such as Saudi Arabia to revise their export and production strategies.
For April-loading cargoes, Aramco has asked Asian buyers to submit nomination plans for shipments from both Ras Tanura and Yanbu, sources said. However, the Yanbu loading option applies only to purchases of Arab Light crude.
The company has also extended the deadline for buyers to submit their nominations until Friday, two sources confirmed.
Typically, crude allocations for Asia are released around the 10th of each month, and traders closely monitor these figures as an indicator of demand in the world’s largest crude-importing region.
Aramco declined to comment on the development.
To bypass disruptions at the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s largest oil exporter has begun rerouting part of its crude shipments through pipelines to Yanbu.
Data from LSEG shows that loadings at Yanbu averaged 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first nine days of March, a significant increase from 1.1 million bpd recorded in February.
Before the outbreak of the conflict, Saudi Arabia was exporting roughly 6 million bpd through the Strait of Hormuz.
