Oil supply fears ease on Saudi workaround via Oman

Oil prices continued to decline in early trading on Thursday after Saudi Arabia was reportedly supplying crude through Oman, easing fears of potential global supply disruptions.

Brent crude futures fell 1.2 percent to $104.59 a barrel by 01:00 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate futures slipped 1.1 percent to $101.29.

Both benchmarks fell nearly $3 on Wednesday.

Riyadh is offering Asian refiners more crude loadings through ship-to-ship transfers off Oman’s Sohar port, Reuters reported.

The move follows the pause in operations of the vital East-West pipeline after strikes by Yemen’s Houthi militia.

Two pumping stations serving the pipeline were damaged in an attack last week, and the repair timeline remains unclear.

Supply concerns eased further after reports that Saudi Arabia would ship cargo via Oman, Reuters said, citing Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist at Nissan Securities Investment, a unit of Nissan Securities.

Further reading:

• Gulf businesses begin to adapt to lingering war
• US counts steep cost of war damage to its Gulf assets
• UAE in line to become Gulf’s top oil exporter

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres urged de-escalation in the Middle East and Ukraine during a press conference on Wednesday.

“At this crucial moment in the Middle East, de-escalation must be priority one, priority two and priority three,” he said.

Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange closed flat on Wednesday, although Saudi Aramco rose nearly 1 percent.

Abu Dhabi’s index slipped 0.2 percent and Dubai’s benchmark index fell 0.2 percent.

Qatar fell 1.4 percent and Oman closed nearly 1 percent lower, while Kuwait edged down marginally. Bahrain’s benchmark index closed flat.