Saudi Aramco cuts oil supply to Asia for second month in April

SINGAPORE: Saudi Aramco, the world's top oil exporter, ​has cut crude supply to Asian buyers for ‌a second month in April, three sources with knowledge of the matter said, after the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran disrupted ​trade via the Strait of Hormuz.

The producer is ​supplying only Arab Light crude exported from the Red ⁠Sea port of Yanbu to term customers in April, ​the sources said, keeping supplies to Asian refineries tight and ​capping their refined products output.

"Saudi Aramco continues to ensure reliable energy supply by leveraging alternative export routes through Yanbu in response to ​evolving regional conditions," the company said in a statement.

"We ​remain committed to meeting our customers' expectations, with loading schedules adjusted to ‌reflect ⁠the new realities, and customers kept informed," Saudi Aramco said.

Saudi Arabia has exported 4.355 million barrels per day of crude so far in March, data from analytics firm Kpler ​showed, down from ​7.108 million ⁠bpd in February.

The producer is trying to boost crude exports via Yanbu to offset ​the Strait of Hormuz disruption, with loadings seen ​rising ⁠to record volumes in March. China's top refiner Sinopec is set to load about 24 million barrels of Saudi crude from Yanbu ⁠in ​March.

Oil loadings at the Yanbu port ​were briefly disrupted on Thursday after a drone crashed at Saudi Aramco's SAMREF refinery.