Middle East Oil Exports Witness Strong Rebound in September

Recent data from Kepler on Monday revealed a significant rebound in crude oil exports from key producing nations in the Middle East during September. These exports reached 12.8 million barrels per day, marking the highest level recorded since the outbreak of what was described as the "US-Israeli war on Iran" in February, driven by increased shipments from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Preliminary information indicated that this surge coincided with a recovery in exports passing through the Strait of Hormuz, estimated at approximately 7.4 million barrels per day this month. Despite this resurgence in shipments from the region, which includes Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, and Iran, they remain about 6 million barrels per day below the 18.8 million barrels per day level recorded in February. The data further pointed out that Saudi Arabia, the region's largest exporter, is poised to ship around 5.4 million barrels per day this month, compared to 2.446 million barrels per day in the preceding August. Shipments in September from the Ras Tanura port in the Gulf also saw a jump, reaching approximately 3.6 million barrels per day, up from 929,000 barrels per day in August. Kepler's data also showed that a total of 19 very large crude carriers, each transporting two million barrels of Saudi oil, departed from the Strait of Hormuz last week. These figures exclude any vessels that might have traversed the Strait with their automatic identification system transponders switched off to avoid detection. It is worth noting that prior to the outbreak of the war with Iran on February 28, the Strait typically accommodated around 125 large commercial vessels daily, including oil and gas tankers, bulk carriers, and container ships, representing about 20% of the world's daily crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.