Saudi Aramco has informed at least two European refining customers that they will receive no crude oil next month following an attack on a key Saudi pipeline to the Red Sea, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.European customers typically receive Saudi crude under term contracts that guarantee a steady monthly supply. However, those deliveries will not take place next month, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News, adding that the decision applies to all European buyers.Saudi Aramco operates the 1,200-km (745-mile) East-West Pipeline, which runs across the Arabian Peninsula. Three pumping stations along the vital route were damaged in an attack last week, one more than previously assessed, according to satellite imagery and three industry sources cited on September 17.Authorities subsequently shut down the pipeline following an attack last week, which Saudi Arabia blamed on drones launched by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.The pipeline shutdown has triggered a scramble among some Aramco customers to secure alternative supplies. Poland’s Orlen SA has issued more than 10 tenders since Friday as it seeks to source replacement crude.European countries in the OECD imported 577,000 barrels per day of crude from Saudi Arabia in June, according to the International Energy Agency’s monthly Oil Market Report.The pipeline has served as the main alternative route for global shipments of Middle Eastern oil over the past six months, as the Strait of Hormuz has remained largely closed amid the war.It has been transporting between 4 million and 5 million barrels of crude per day, equivalent to around 4% to 5% of global supply, helping Saudi Arabia avoid the full impact of disruptions that have affected other Gulf oil and gas exporters.
