Saudi Aramco resumes oil loading at Ras Tanura terminal in boost to supply

SaudiAramcoresumed crude loadings on Friday at its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf after a near four-month halt. shipping data showed, as the world’s biggest oil exporter joined a rush to move cargoes amid industry hopes of a return to normal.

The Saudi oil loadings come even though a ship belonging to Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine was hit by an unknown object in theStrait of Hormuzon Thursday.

Middle Eastern producers had been ramping up oil. gas output and exports in the lead-up to the interim deal between theUnited States and Iranto halt the war and reopen the strait where a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies used to pass.

Two Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) controlled by Saudi’s shipping arm Bahri were seen loading crude at Ras Tanura. the world’s biggest oil port, while another waited nearby, the data showed.

Each VLCC is capable of loading two million barrels of oil.

Saudi Aramco. among the last of major Gulf producers to resume exports from inside the Gulf, could not be immediately reached for comment outside office hours.

British navy agency UKMTO paused its operation to escort ships through the strait after the attack on the cargo ship. reigniting concerns about whether the preliminary deal to end the Iran war will hold.

Two US officials toldReutersthat Iran had fired on the ship. while Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which Tehran established to manage requests for ships to travel through the strait, said vessels outside routes it has set will not be guaranteed safe passage.

Ras Tanura sits on Saudi Arabia’s eastern coast on the Gulf and is west of the Strait of Hormuz. It used to export more than five million barrels per day (bpd) of crude before the conflict.

The country’s largest domestic 550,000 bpd refinery is also located at Ras Tanura. which was shut during the war as a precautionary measure.

Aramco last loaded a cargo from Ras Tanura port for China on March 8, LSEG data showed,. had to divert its exports to the Red Sea port of Yanbu after the Iranian blockade of the strait during the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The war has caused Saudi crude exports toslumpto about 4m bpd in the past three months. the data showed, from more than 7m bpd in February.