Brent Extends Drop as Supply Risks Ease

2026-09-17 21:23 By Isabela Couto 1 min. read

Brent crude oil settled near $104 a barrel on Thursday, extending a 2.7% drop from the previous session, as Saudi Arabia shifts some crude exports through the Strait of Hormuz to offset the closure of a key pipeline.

Saudi Arabia is reportedly making additional crude cargoes available to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfers near Oman’s Sohar port.

Shuttle vessels transport crude through Hormuz before loading tankers waiting outside the strait, reducing their exposure to Iranian attacks.

Saudi Arabia also said it could restore around half of the damaged East-West pipeline’s capacity within days and full operations within six weeks.

Saudi crude loadings at Mideast Gulf ports have risen this month, while ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman increased to 2.7 million bpd from 1.5 million bpd in August.

Meanwhile, Russia’s seaborne oil product exports jumped 16.4% in August from July as refineries returned from maintenance.



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