Producers in the Middle East have asked Asian refiners to submit crude oil loading programmes for April and May in preparation for the eventual resumption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.
A two-week ceasefire deal between the U.S. and Iran announced on Wednesday lifted hopes for a reopening of the Strait, through which about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies travelled before the war.
But there has been no sign yet of Tehran lifting its near-total blockade of the critical waterway, which has driven up energy prices sharply.
Top global exporter Saudi Aramco has asked its clients to submit nominations for cargoes loading from the ports of Yanbu and Ras Tanura in May, two of the sources said.
This would be subject to the resumption of exports from the eastern Ras Tanura port, which requires vessels to transit via the Strait of Hormuz, one of them said.
The sources declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak to media.
Aramco told buyers last month they could lift crude in April only from the western Yanbu port in the Red Sea. The producer is sending crude to Yanbu via the East-West Pipeline.
However, attacks on Saudi energy facilities have cut the kingdom's oil production capacity by around 600,000 barrels per day and throughput on its East-West Pipeline by about 700,000 bpd, Saudi state news agency SPA reported on Thursday, citing an official source at the Ministry of Energy.
Kuwait, Iraq
Separately, Kuwait Petroleum Corp has provided loading dates for Kuwait Export Crude (KEC) sold on free-on-board (FOB) basis in April, two of the sources said.
One of them said cargo nominations are in process and are subject to customers' ability to lift the cargoes.
Last month, KPC declared force majeure on delivered crude supplies as tankers could not enter the Gulf and lift oil.
Aramco and KPC could not be immediately reached for comment outside office hours.
Earlier this week, Iraq's state oil marketer SOMO asked its customers to submit loading schedules following media reports that Iran had exempted Iraq from restrictions on transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
Asian refiners and trading firms have been seeking tankers to load crude from within the Gulf this week following the ceasefire announcement.
Commodities trader Glencore GLEN.L and Taiwan's state refiner CPC have chartered a tanker each to load Middle Eastern crude for Asia, while Indian and South Korean refiners are on the hunt for tankers to load Iraqi crude this month.
(Reuters - Reporting by Florence Tan and Siyi Liu; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
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