Saudi Aramco offers discounted crude to European refiners after pipeline repair

Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco has begun offering additional crude oil supplies to European buyers at discounted prices. According to Bloomberg, which reported the development on October 27, the company is offering extra spot cargoes to European refineries for delivery in late October and November. Some October shipments are priced below official selling levels.

The move follows the restoration of operations along Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline, which was disrupted by a drone attack on September 11. The interruption had forced Saudi Aramco to tell European customers it would be unable to fulfil certain crude deliveries scheduled for October under long-term contracts. The company now expects to fulfil its long-term contractual orders in full during November.

According to vessel-tracking data cited by Bloomberg, Saudi Arabia typically exports between 700,000 and 800,000 barrels of crude oil per day to European markets. During the disruption, Polish refiner Orlen secured additional crude shipments from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Norway and other suppliers.