Saudi Aramco has asked buyers in Asia to offer crude loading plans for both Ras Tanura, its main export terminal, and Yanbu on the Red Sea for April shipments as the US-Iran conflict disrupts exports from the Middle East, multiple sources said.
Shipping through the vital Strait of Hormuz remains largely halted due to the US-Israeli war on Iran, disrupting supply flows from the gulf. That has also forced regional producers including Saudi Arabia to adjust export logistics and oil output.
For April-loading cargoes, Aramco asked Asian buyers to submit two nomination plans - one for loading at Ras Tanura on the Persian Gulf, and another for loading at Yanbu, the sources said. The Yanbu option applies only to the purchase of Arab Light crude.
Aramco has also extended the deadline for buyers to submit their nominations until Friday, two of the sources said.
Allocations for Asia are typically released around the 10th of each month. They are closely watched by traders as an indicator of demand in the world's largest crude-importing region.
Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The world's top oil exporter has been rerouting some of its crude exports through the Red Sea, via pipeline to Yanbu, to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.
Yanbu loadings averaged 2.2 million bpd in the first nine days of March, up from 1.1 million bpd in February, LSEG data showed.
Saudi Arabia exported around six million bpd through the Strait of Hormuz before the war effectively shut the narrow passage in late February.
(Reporting by Siyi Liu in Singapore and Nidhi Verma in New Delhi; Editing by Louise Heavens)
