Saudi export disruption lifts oil futures and sends some physical cargoes above US$130 a barrel on Sept 15
Saudi export disruptions lift Brent and US crude futures to their highest closes since May 19, as buyers seek alternative supplies
European buyers pushed some physical oil cargo prices above US$130 a barrel on Tuesday (September 15, 2026), while Brent and US crude futures reached their highest settlements since May 19 as disruptions to Saudi exports intensified.
Shipping industry sources saids that crude loadings at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea export hub of Yanbu had been suspended. Trade sources also said Riyadh had informed European customers that some late-September crude cargoes would be cancelled, raising concerns that disruption could last for weeks.
Forties crude approaches April record
North Sea Forties crude rose to US$136.75 a barrel as buyers sought alternatives to Middle Eastern supplies, according to LSEG data. The price approached the grade’s record of US$147.37, reached on April 13 after the Iran war disrupted regional exports.
Brent crude futures moved towards US$110 a barrel, settling US$3.07, or 2.9%, higher at US$108.75. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained US$4.44, or 4.38%, to US$105.83 a barrel.
Physical cargoes command higher prices than futures partly because their delivery dates are closer. The physical shipments are due within a few weeks, while the nearby Brent futures contract is for November delivery.
WTI’s larger gain reflected expectations that European refiners would replace cancelled Saudi shipments with US crude, said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.
Traders were buying WTI futures on expectations that Saudi export disruptions would last longer than initially anticipated, Lipow said. US refiners’ ability to switch readily between crude grades could also increase demand for sweet crude such as WTI and support prices, he added.
Saudi pipeline outage threatens up to 4% of global oil supply
Saudi Arabia could exhaust crude available for export within days unless the East-West pipeline resumes operations, buyers and traders told Reuters. The disruption threatens up to 4% of global oil supply.
Saudi Arabia’s roughly 1,200-kilometre East-West pipeline carries crude from the kingdom’s eastern oil-producing region to Yanbu, allowing exports to leave through the Red Sea without passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Yanbu became increasingly important after the US-Israeli war on Iran caused the closure of Hormuz, a route that previously carried about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, subsequently had to shut the pipeline following attacks last week.
Fresh attacks on Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on Monday, September 14, and the postponement of planned talks between Gulf Arab states and Iran added to concerns over oil supplies.
“Fresh attacks by the Houthis targeting Saudi Arabia may be influencing oil market investors’ expectations about the severity and duration of the conflict,” said Hamad Hussain, senior climate and commodities economist at Capital Economics.
Goldman Sachs said the latest repair assessments ranged from “very soon” to eight weeks. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC on Tuesday that oil should be flowing through the pipeline again within days.
Goldman Sachs also said attacks on oil infrastructure represented a significant escalation and increased the probability of Brent exceeding US$120 a barrel. The bank cited a scenario in which average Gulf oil output in 2027 remains 4 million barrels per day below pre-war levels.
Commodity vessel traffic through Hormuz fell to four on Monday, September 14, from 10 the previous day, according to preliminary Kpler data released on Tuesday.
Libya suspends operations at three oil fields
Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) said operations at three oil fields had been suspended after protesting members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard closed a valve on the Hamada-Zawiya crude export pipeline. The disruption was separate from the Iran conflict.
The Petroleum Facilities Guard warned that the shutdown could expand if its demands were not met. The NOC said it might declare force majeure if the valve remained closed or further fields were forced to stop production.
US diesel futures and refining margins close at records
Continuing attacks on energy infrastructure in Russia and Ukraine also pushed US diesel futures and diesel refining margins, known as cracks, to record closing levels.
Russia hit petrol stations in Kyiv on Tuesday, while Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery. The attacks continued despite US President Donald Trump’s announcement that the two sides had agreed to stop strikes on each other’s energy targets.
Half of Russia’s six largest diesel-producing refineries significantly reduced or halted output in September because of damage from drone attacks, according to calculations based on data from fuel market participants.
