Oil loading rates in the Strait of Hormuz had already been gradually increasing before the attacks, with a fleet of more than a dozen Saudi vessels waiting just outside the strait in recent weeks, Bloomberg reported.
NEW YORK, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 14th Sep, 2026) Saudi Arabia has begun efforts to increase oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz after its East-West oil pipeline came under attack.
Citing people familiar with the matter, US magazine Bloomberg reported that after attacks and the shutdown of the key pipeline—which had become the most important route for delivering crude oil to global markets during the Iran war—Saudi Arabia is now seeking to further increase oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
Sources said the kingdom had already increased shipments through the Strait of Hormuz during the first 10 days of this month compared with August levels, and efforts were now under way to increase supplies further.
Saudi Arabia had been using the East-West pipeline to avoid the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz caused by the Iran war.
However, the pipeline was shut down after being targeted at least two locations last week.
Two regional officials said the pipeline would remain out of service for several weeks.
According to Bloomberg, oil loading rates had already been gradually increasing before last week’s attacks on the pipeline, while a fleet of more than a dozen Saudi vessels had been waiting just outside the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks.
Satellite imagery also indicated an increase in tanker loading at a major Saudi export terminal in the Persian Gulf over the past few days.
The report said it was not immediately clear how much, or how quickly, Saudi Aramco could increase shipments through Hormuz to compensate for the loss caused by the pipeline shutdown.
According to Bloomberg, Aramco had increased its total exports to nearly 4 million barrels per day in early September, with approximately 1 million barrels per day being exported through the Strait of Hormuz and the remainder through the Red Sea port of Yanbu.
According to tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg, Vortexa and Kpler, Saudi Arabia’s total oil shipments fell to approximately 3 million barrels per day in August, the lowest level in at least 9 years.
