Crude oil exports from Persian Gulf countries reached 16.33 million barrels per day in September 2023, indicating a significant recovery in this sector. This increase comes as tanker movements in the Strait of Hormuz have also sharply increased, and Saudi Arabia has simultaneously reactivated its alternative export route in the Red Sea.
Increase in crude oil exports
According to updated data, crude oil exports from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, and Iran have reached 16.33 million barrels per day, which is nearly 80 percent of the pre-war export level with Iran. Oil exports in February 2023 reached 19.51 million barrels per day.
Tanker movements in the Strait of Hormuz
Tanker movements in the Strait of Hormuz have significantly improved, and estimates suggest that the volume of crude oil transported through this strait reached about 9.72 million barrels per day in September. This is while this amount had decreased to 2.2 million barrels per day in late July. Saudi Arabia has led much of this improvement, and it is estimated that the country's exports in September will reach 5.4 million barrels per day, more than double the 2.45 million barrels exported in August.
Export activity from the Ras Tanura port has also returned to being the center of Saudi export activities, with the volume of shipments from this port reaching about 3.25 million barrels per day. This amount has increased from 929,000 barrels per day in August.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has resumed loading tankers in Yanbu and has revived another export route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz by repairing the East-West pipeline. Estimates suggest that the pipeline's throughput is currently about 2.65 million barrels per day and is expected to reach 3 to 4 million barrels per day in the coming days.
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has stated that the highest amount of oil has been extracted from the Strait of Hormuz last night, referring to the improvement in oil flows.
According to information from TankerTrackers.com, nearly 10 million barrels of oil were loaded on September 27 in Yanbu and Al-Mujiz, with 40 tankers visible around these terminals.
Read more: CEO of the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company: We have no fuel shortages · Russian crude oil exports reached the highest level in a month and a half
