Saudi Arabia’s crude exports in August fell to their lowest level in at least nine years, as the Iran war disrupted the kingdom’s main export routes through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
According to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg, Kpler and Vortexa, Saudi crude exports stood at around 3 million barrels per day, their lowest level on record since 2017.
The export slump comes against the backdrop of continued threats to Saudi shipments, with two supertankers carrying a combined 4 million barrels of the kingdom’s crude struck while exiting the Strait of Hormuz late Monday.
Maritime security consultancy Marisks said the Sidr, a very large crude carrier operated by Saudi Arabia’s Bahri shipping company, was struck by a projectile northeast of Khasab, Oman. The Senegal Prosperity, operated by South Korea’s Sinokor Group, was hit by three missiles east of Oman, according to the Athens-based consultancy.
Saudi Arabia said Wednesday that two Filipino seafarers aboard Sidr were killed in what it described as an Iranian attack Monday night. No group has claimed responsibility.
The August level was less than half the roughly 7.3 million bpd shipped in February, when exports reached a nearly three-year high shortly before the Iran war began.
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