Saudi Arabia Resumes Yanbu Oil Loading After Pipeline Restart

Saudi Arabia has resumed oil tanker loadings from its Red Sea port of Yanbu after restarting operations on the East-West Pipeline, according to trade sources and shipping data.

State oil giant Saudi Aramco notified customers on Monday evening of its October loading schedule from Yanbu. The resumption of Yanbu loadings, which had been halted earlier this month after a drone attack on the pipeline, improves the outlook for oil exports from the Middle East. Drone attacks, which Saudi Arabia blamed on Iraqi militias, forced the kingdom to shut the pipeline on September 11, halting crude exports from Yanbu.

Pipeline operations resumed last Tuesday. European Space Agency satellite imagery captured over the Red Sea on September 27 shows Saudi Arabia loading nearly 10 million barrels of crude oil at Yanbu and Al Muajjiz, a terminal south of Yanbu. Two trade sources separately estimated crude loadings from Yanbu at about 2 million barrels per day since last week.

Oil products are also being loaded. Separately, Saudi Arabia has launched a National AI Risk Management Framework to help government agencies and businesses manage risks associated with artificial intelligence. The framework, developed by the Saudi Data and AI Authority, provides a unified methodology for identifying, assessing, treating, and monitoring AI-related risks. The Asian Football Confederation unveiled the official match ball for the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027, named "Khuzama," as the tournament's 100-day countdown begins.

Saudi Arabia will host the AFC Asian Cup for the first time, with 24 teams competing across Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al-Khobar from January 7 to February 5, 2027.