Saudi Aramco Resumes Crude Oil Loading at Ras Tanura Terminal

Saudi Aramco resumed crude loadings 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 the Strait of Hormuz.

Middle Eastern producers had been ramping up oil and gas output and exports in the lead-up to the interim deal between the United States and Iran to 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 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 2 million barrels of oil.

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 5 million 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, and had to divert its exports to the Red Sea port of Yanbu after the Iranian blockade of the strait during its war with the U.S. and Israel prevented ships from entering the Gulf.

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

Saudi Aramco may cut August prices sharply next week as competition among producers intensifies.