HomeSaudi Arabia Rebuilds Oil Exports With 60 Million-Barrel Sohar Ship-to-Ship Relay

Saudi Arabia Rebuilds Oil Exports With 60 Million-Barrel Sohar Ship-to-Ship Relay

September 18, 2026

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Saudi Arabia is rebuilding crude exports from its Gulf terminals through a large ship-to-ship transfer program off Sohar, Oman, after attacks on the East-West Pipeline sharply reduced flows to the Red Sea export hub at Yanbu. Multiple trade sources told Reuters that Saudi Aramco has sold about 60 million barrels for September and October loading from Ras Tanura, with the crude moved through the Strait of Hormuz by shuttle tankers and transferred to other vessels off Sohar for onward delivery. Gulf-side Saudi exports have recovered to roughly 1 million to 1.5 million barrels per day, with Chinese and South Korean refiners among the largest buyers and additional cargoes heading to India and Japan. The operation is restoring part of the lost export capacity but has shifted the constraint into shipping: Kpler says Sohar and Fujairah are operating at or close to their STS limits, while Middle East Gulf-to-Asia VLCC freight has surged and Reuters reported a record Worldscale 800 rate for an early-October 2-million-barrel Fujairah-to-Asia fixture. Aramco has not publicly commented on the reported 60-million-barrel sales program.

Saudi Crude Logistics · September 2026

The Sohar Oil Relay

Saudi Arabia is using a two-vessel relay to rebuild Asian crude exports while its East-West Pipeline and Yanbu export system remain constrained.

September + October Program ~60M bbl Reported Saudi crude sales from Ras Tanura using onward ship-to-ship transfer off Sohar.
How the New Export Chain Works
Stage 1 Ras Tanura
Saudi crude loads at the kingdom's Gulf export terminal inside the Strait of Hormuz.
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Stage 2 Hormuz Transit
Shuttle tanker carries the crude through the region's highest-risk maritime chokepoint.
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Stage 3 Sohar STS
Crude is transferred ship-to-ship off Oman after the shuttle tanker clears the strait.
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Stage 4 Asia
Receiving tankers continue toward refiners in China, South Korea, India and Japan.
Gulf Export Recovery 1.0-1.5M bpd
Reuters says Saudi Gulf exports have recovered to roughly August levels.
Typical VLCC Cargo ~2M bbl
A 60-million-barrel program equates to roughly 30 VLCC-size cargoes at this scale.
Main Buyers China + Korea
India and Japan are also taking volumes from the additional Saudi supply.
Record Freight Signal WS 800
Reuters reported this rate for an early-October 2-million-barrel Fujairah-to-Asia VLCC fixture.
Important distinction: Sohar is outside the Strait of Hormuz, but the Saudi crude begins at Ras Tanura inside the Gulf. The shuttle tanker therefore still has to transit Hormuz. The STS structure reduces how many long-haul receiving vessels need to enter the Gulf; it does not create a physical bypass around the strait.
Terminals · Tankers · STS · Asian Buyers

Saudi Export Logistics Reset

The crude is available. The emerging constraint is moving it from Saudi Gulf terminals, through Hormuz and across increasingly crowded ship-to-ship infrastructure outside the strait.

Scroll sideways for the complete logistics view ← →
Link Current Role Scale / Activity Main Constraint Shipping Effect Commercial Signal
Ras Tanura GULF LOADOUT Saudi Export Origin Reuters says approximately 60 million barrels have been sold from Ras Tanura for September and October using onward Sohar STS delivery. The terminal lies inside Hormuz, so every shuttle cargo must still clear the strait. Higher Gulf loading shifts tanker employment back toward Saudi east-coast terminals. Saudi Gulf exports have recovered to approximately 1.0-1.5 million bpd on average.
Strait of Hormuz HIGH-RISK LEG Shuttle Transit Shuttle tankers carry Saudi crude out of the Gulf before transferring it to receiving vessels. Commercial traffic remains sharply below historical levels and vessel movements remain exposed to regional military risk. Tanker utilization rises because one cargo now requires a dedicated short-haul shuttle leg plus onward carriage. Kpler estimates a substantial freight premium for voyages requiring direct Middle East Gulf exposure.
Sohar / Gulf of Oman TRANSFER HUB STS Outside Hormuz Crude is lightered from the Gulf shuttle tanker into a receiving tanker positioned outside the strait. Kpler says Sohar and Fujairah are believed to be operating at or close to STS capacity. Lightering equipment, transfer slots, weather windows and vessel coordination become physical throughput constraints. Gulf of Oman STS volumes had already risen substantially before the latest Saudi sales program.
Shuttle VLCC Fleet EXPANDING 0.11-0.13M bpd / VLCC Kpler estimates that one additional shuttle VLCC contributes roughly 110,000-130,000 bpd of export capacity at current utilization. Turnaround time has lengthened, with observed shuttle utilization falling to about 1.7 transits per month. Moving 3 million bpd of redirected Yanbu crude through Ras Tanura could require roughly 25 additional shuttle VLCCs. Kpler identifies Bahri and Sinokor as major pools of tonnage potentially available for the shuttle trade.
Asian Refiners BUYING China + South Korea Lead Reuters says China and South Korea are the largest buyers of the additional spot cargoes, with India and Japan also receiving volumes. Record tanker freight increases delivered crude cost even when physical Saudi supply remains available. STS allows the long-haul receiving tanker to avoid entering the Gulf itself. Japan's refiners say crude supplies are secured through November partly because Saudi cargoes continue moving through this structure.
Yanbu / Petroline DISRUPTED Red Sea Route Reduced The East-West Pipeline outage has reduced the crude available for export from Saudi Arabia's west coast. Damaged pumping infrastructure and low west-coast inventories limit sustained export loading. Barrels previously moved by pipeline now require more tanker-intensive routing from the Gulf. Reports that Saudi Arabia could restore part of Petroline capacity have helped ease oil-price fears.
Tanker Capacity Signals
Shuttle Utilization ~1.7 Trips / Month
Kpler says this has fallen from approximately 2.5 during an earlier period.
3M bpd Redirect Scenario ~25 VLCCs
Kpler's estimate for additional shuttle vessels required each month.
Bahri Near Gulf of Oman 17 VLCCs
Kpler identified this many Bahri VLCCs ballasting in the Gulf of Oman.
Sohar → Ras Tanura ~1.5 Days
Kpler voyage estimate at approximately 12 knots.
Ship Universe Tanker Logistics Tool

Sohar STS & Shuttle Fleet Planner

Convert an emergency crude export program into average daily throughput, VLCC-size transfer events and the shuttle fleet required to move the barrels through Hormuz.

million bbl
days
61 days represents September plus October.
million bbl
Rough VLCC cargo reference.
M bpd
Kpler estimates approximately 0.11-0.13M bpd per additional shuttle VLCC at current utilization.
trips / month
Current Kpler observation for shuttle VLCC utilization.
VLCCs
Default reflects Kpler's count of Bahri VLCCs ballasting in the Gulf of Oman, not guaranteed committed capacity.
Average Export Throughput 0.98M total program divided across the entered execution window
VLCC-Size STS Transfers 30 total barrels divided by entered cargo size
Shuttle VLCC Equivalents 8.2 average throughput divided by entered per-VLCC capacity
Average STS Transfers per Day 0.49 modeled transfer events across the full execution window
Average Transfers per Month 15.0 transfer events normalized to a 30-day month
Available Fleet Coverage 207% entered available VLCCs relative to modeled shuttle requirement
Program vs Shuttle Capacity
Compare the modeled fleet requirement with the entered pool of potentially available shuttle vessels.
Required VLCCs
8.2
Available VLCCs
17
Modeled Operation 30 Transfers
This is a throughput model for a repeated tanker relay. It estimates transfer and shuttle demand rather than reproducing Aramco's actual vessel schedule.
Program 60M bbl
Window 61 days
Cargo Size 2.0M bbl
Daily Throughput 0.98M bpd
Scenario model: The 60-million-barrel default is the reported September-October Saudi sales program. The 2-million-barrel cargo size is a representative VLCC load. Kpler's estimated shuttle capacity of 0.11-0.13 million bpd per additional VLCC and current utilization of roughly 1.7 shuttle transits per month are operational benchmarks, not guaranteed performance. Actual requirements depend on vessel size, loading delays, convoy or security arrangements, STS availability, weather and turnaround time.
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