2026.09.1721:21:19UTC+00Oil Extends Drop as Supply Risks Ease

Crude oil settled near $101 a barrel on Thursday, extending the previous session’s 3.2% decline, as Saudi Arabia rerouted part of its exports through the Strait of Hormuz to offset the shutdown of a major pipeline. The kingdom is reportedly offering additional crude cargoes to Asian refiners via ship-to-ship transfers off Oman’s Sohar port. In this setup, shuttle vessels move crude through Hormuz and then load it onto tankers waiting outside the strait, limiting those tankers’ exposure to potential Iranian attacks.

Saudi officials also indicated they could restore roughly half of the damaged East–West pipeline’s capacity within days and return it to full operation within six weeks. Saudi crude loadings at Middle East Gulf ports have increased this month, while ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman have risen to 2.7 million barrels per day from 1.5 million barrels per day in August. At the same time, Russia’s seaborne exports of oil products climbed 16.4% in August compared with July, as refineries came back online following maintenance.