Saudi Aramco has revamped the crude oil feedstock supply chain to its 400,000 b/d Jazan refinery on the southwest Red Sea coast, which lies less than 100km from the Yemen border. Since its 2021 startup, the refinery has relied on Arab Medium crude oil shipped on tankers from Aramco’s Gulf coast terminals at Ras Tanura, but it is now receiving a mix of Arab Heavy and Arab Light crudes from Red Sea terminals according to Kpler data.
Under the traditional route, tankers have to traverse the Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint and southern Red Sea, in which the Houthis have been conducting frequent attacks against shipping. Although no Saudi vessels have been targeted, it appears that Aramco has now radically overhauled its operations at Jazan to favor a lower-risk supply chain. (CONTINUED - 814 WORDS)
