Gulf of Oman ship-to-ship oil transfers reach limit as Saudi exports surge

Ship-to-ship transfers in the ‌Gulf of Oman for West Asian oil from inside the Strait of Hormuz have reached their ​limits after Saudi Arabia diverted exports from the Red Sea, adding to shipments from other producers, trade sources ⁠and analysts said.

The increasing amount of Saudi exports this month requires more supertankers to shuttle crude through Hormuz to conduct cargo transfers, they said. That has reduced ship availability, raising shipping costs and increasing the time cargoes are on the water before reaching refineries.

State-run Saudi Aramco has ‌sold more than 60 million barrels of crude for STS transfer off Sohar, Oman, this month and next since its East-West Pipeline was attacked on September 13, halting oil exports from the Red Sea port ‌of Yanbu.