Saudi Arabia is shipping oil at close to its fastest pace since the Iran war began. Aramco is shifting cargoes between coasts to keep crude moving through Houthi and Iranian attacks.
Exports averaged 6.5 million barrels a day so far in October, data from tanker tracker Vortexa compiled by Bloomberg show. That's just below September's 6.6 million, the highest since the conflict started.
Two coasts, one strategy
Red Sea shipments, mostly from Yanbu, rose to 2.5 million barrels a day from 2.4 million.
Gulf loadings slipped to 4 million from 4.2 million, as repeated attacks interrupted flows through Hormuz.
The East-West pipeline that feeds Yanbu was shut after an attack last month and has since resumed.
Trackers disagree
TankerTrackers.com puts October exports at about 7 million barrels a day, roughly pre-war levels. Kpler has them at 5.4 million, below September.
Tankers switching off their transponders makes the data harder to pin down.
More oil, less panic
Saudi Arabia told OPEC it raised output by a third in September to more than 8.3 million barrels a day, a wartime high.
The extra supply is easing pressure in Asia. The premium for Oman crude over Dubai fell to about $6 a barrel this week, from almost $34 in September.
What to watch
Houthi strikes are still hitting Saudi energy sites. The 400,000-barrel-a-day Jazan refinery remains shut.
