Asian refiners have reportedly received informal indications from Saudi Aramco that they will soon be able to load crude oil from the Red Sea port of Yanbu, according to informed traders. At least three fuel suppliers have obtained verbal assurances from managers of the Saudi state-owned enterprise, though no official notification or specific timeline has been provided, the traders said on condition of anonymity.

Crude loadings at Yanbu have been almost entirely halted since a drone strike launched from Iraq on September 10 forced the shutdown of the East-West pipeline, which normally transports approximately 4 million barrels of oil per day. Last week, sources indicated that Saudi Arabia was seeking to restore roughly half of the pipeline's capacity within a matter of days. However, Saudi Aramco has not issued any recent updates on the situation. The company declined to comment on the matter.