Saudi Aramco halts October oil deliveries to some European refiners

Saudi Aramco has reportedly told at least two European refiners that they will receive no Saudi crude in October after a drone attack damaged the kingdom’s main pipeline to the Red Sea. The affected refiners normally receive guaranteed monthly deliveries under longer-term supply contracts, making the cancellations a significant escalation from earlier warnings that only some Saudi cargoes could be disrupted.

The attack damaged three pumping stations on Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline and disrupted loadings from the Red Sea port of Yanbu. Poland’s Orlen is reportedly among the European customers seeking replacement supplies and has purchased North Sea crude to compensate for lost Saudi deliveries. Aramco is also increasing ship-to-ship transfers near Sohar, Oman, as it attempts to redirect more oil through the Persian Gulf.

Bloomberg reported that Aramco hopes to restart part of the damaged pipeline within days and restore its full capacity within six weeks. Reuters said it could not independently verify the report, while Saudi Aramco had not commented publicly. The interruption affects some European customers rather than all Saudi shipments to Europe, but it adds pressure to an already strained market and highlights the vulnerability of both the Red Sea and Persian Gulf export routes