Middle East oil exports surpassed pre-war levels in September as Gulf producers increased shipments despite escalating tanker attacks near the Strait of Hormuz, according to Kpler shipping data.
The region’s crude exports reached a seven-day moving average of 18.3 million barrels per day on September 30, surpassing pre-war 14-day levels in September. Vortexa said Middle East crude and condensate exports reached 18.6 million barrels per day on a 14-day average, surpassing the 10-year seasonal average and returning to pre-conflict levels.
“Most of this month-over-month increase seen in September comes from Saudi Arabia, which is accelerating its exports to regain market share compared to other Middle Eastern countries,” said Xavier Tang, senior market analyst at Vortexa.
“This increase in supplies to the Middle East will also help ease tensions in the oil market, particularly for Asian refiners. »
The increase in supply came even as Marisks, a maritime intelligence service, warned that merchant ships passing through the key chokepoint faced a “heightened and increasingly unpredictable kinetic threat.”
Marisks said at least seven incidents involving oil tankers had been reported over the past week, including strikes on a very large Kuwaiti oil carrier and a Liberian-flagged Aframax tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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