Saudi Arabia has increased oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz since the United States and Iran signed an agreement last month to reopen sea lanes.
Since June 17, Saudi Arabia has transported about 34 million barrels of oil through Hormuz, according to data from trade information firm Kpler. Riyadh’s exports in the past two weeks are more than double the 15 million barrels the country shipped through the strait between March 9 and June 17.
“Flows of Saudi crude oil in the Gulf are returning after months of conflict-induced rerouting,” Kpler analyst Jashan Prema told clients in a note Thursday.
The roughly 24 million barrels of Saudi oil shipped since June 17 were loaded during or before the U.S.-Iran war, Kupler said. This shows Saudi Arabia is clearing the backlog of oil tankers that were stuck in the Gulf during the conflict, the company said. According to the report, about 17 million barrels of Saudi oil shipped before the war remain in the Gulf.
Riyadh largely suspended shipments from its Gulf export terminals in Ras Tanura and Juaymah on March 9 after Iranian attacks sharply reduced tanker traffic through Hormuz. Saudi Arabia has routed most of its oil exports to the Red Sea terminal in Yanbu via the East-West Pipeline.
Prema said Saudi Arabia is currently resuming export logistics in the Gulf, as well as clearing pre-war oil backlogs. Analysts say 11 Saudi-bound supertankers entered the Gulf between June 23 and July 1. Eight of these tankers loaded oil at Saudi terminals, and five of them have already left Hormuz, he said.
Ships continue to transit Hormuz after hostilities broke out between the United States and Iran last week. The Iranian government attacked two commercial ships, and the United States retaliated with attacks on Iran over the weekend. Tanker traffic fell to eight vessels on Sunday, but rose to 16 on Wednesday, according to Kpler data.
About 8.5 million barrels of crude oil passed through Hormuz on Wednesday, according to maritime information firm Windward. Nearly 15 million barrels per day will pass through the Strait in 2025, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
