The lack of a shipment means buyers will have to look to alternatives, further driving up fuel costs in the region
Published : 19 Sep 2026, 12:58 AM
Saudi Aramco has informed at least two oil refining customers in Europe that they will not receive any crude oil next month under long-term agreements after a key pipeline to the Red Sea was attacked, reports Bloomberg.
Typically, European customers receive the crude on “term contracts” that mean a steady supply every month. But sources involved in the decision told Bloomberg on condition of anonymity that deliveries will not take place next month.
Saudi Aramco did not immediately respond to the publication’s request for comment.
The lack of a shipment means buyers will have to look to alternatives. Poland’s Oren SA had already been hunting for shipments, propelling prices of regional oil grades higher.
Dated Brent, the benchmark for real-world barrels in Europe, rose past $130 at one point.
Attacks by drones had forced Saudi to shut the East-West pipeline last week. Aramco is now working to partially restart it within days and eventually expand it to full capacity within six weeks, a source told Bloomberg on Wednesday.
The situation has forced Aramco to offer rare agreements for immediate delivery for customers in Asia. Once the pipeline restarts, traders will see whether similar terms are offered to European refiners.
Supplies to Asia are passing through the Persian Gulf, which means that Aramco must again shift focus to the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has ground to a halt after recent attacks on vessels in the waterway.
The company sold tens of millions of barrels of crude to customers for collection just outside the strait. It has largely avoided the route amid the ongoing conflict in the region.
But the increase in Persian Gulf flow does not help European refiners. To transport the crude to them, the shipments would have to cross the Red Sea – where Yemen’s Houthi militants are attacking Saudi ships – or sail nearly five weeks around Africa.
Usually, European refineries receive Saudi crude from the Egyptian Mediterranean port of Sidi Kerir, connected to the Red Sea by a pipeline.
OECD European countries imported 577,000 barrels of crude from Saudi in June, the International Energy Agency says.
