Saudi crude exports from the Red Sea are increasingly vanishing from view as tankers switch off tracking signals to avoid attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, Reuters news agency reports. The growing use of so-called “dark voyages” is clouding visibility into Saudi oil exports, making it harder to assess the extent to……
Saudi crude exports from the Red Sea are increasingly vanishing from view as tankers switch off tracking signals to avoid attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, Reuters news agency reports.
The growing use of so-called “dark voyages” is clouding visibility into Saudi oil exports, making it harder to assess the extent to which Houthi threats may be disrupting crude flows, Reuters said.
Ship-tracking firms have produced widely different export estimates – data used by the International Energy Agency, OPEC and traders to assess global oil supply and forecast market trends.
In the week beginning August 3, data analytics firm Vortexa estimated loadings from Yanbu fell to 2.38 million barrels per day (bpd) from 2.71 million the previous week, while Kpler estimated a sharper drop to 1.78 million bpd from 4.04 million. AXSMarine, however, calculated a rise to 850,000 bpd from about 420,000 bpd.
The Houthis declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on July 20, opening a new front against the United States and its allies in the Iran war.
Al Jazeera
