Saudi Aramco Cuts Oil Supply to Asia for Two Consecutive Months

Singapore - Saudi Aramco has reduced its crude oil supply to Asian buyers for the second consecutive month in April. This decision was made after the US-Israel conflict with Iran disrupted trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz. The world's largest oil company only supplied Arab Light crude, shipped from the Red Sea port of Yanbu, to long-term contract customers in April.

According to Reuters, this situation has limited supplies to Asian refineries, restricting their production of refined fuels. So far, Aramco has not provided an official comment outside of office hours. Data from analytics firm Kpler shows that Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports reached 4.355 million barrels per day in March, down from 7.108 million barrels per day in February.

The company is attempting to increase oil shipments through Yanbu to offset distribution disruptions caused by the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. China's largest refinery, Sinopec, is scheduled to load around 24 million barrels of Saudi oil from Yanbu throughout March. Loading activities at the Yanbu port were briefly disrupted on Thursday after a drone crashed into the SAMREF refinery owned by Saudi Aramco.

As a note, Saudi Aramco reported a net income of $93.4 billion in 2025, a 12% decrease from the previous year due to the decline in global oil prices. Amidst this decline in performance, the world's largest energy company also announced a share buyback program of up to $3 billion, its first buyback in history.

This performance report was released when the global energy market was volatile due to the conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. Tensions in the region have led to disruptions in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the world's main oil transportation route.

Saudi Aramco's Chief Executive Officer, Amin Nasser, warned of the significant impact if the conflict continues to disrupt the route, citing potential 'disastrous consequences' for the global oil market.