en.Wedoany.com Reported - Egypt is accelerating the expansion of six pipelines, with its oil sector in an expansion cycle. Fuel exports have already reached last year's full-year levels in just six months. Meanwhile, Elsewedy Industrial Development has signed on as the first industrial developer in the Golden Triangle zone, targeting a 6 million square meter plot in Safaga.
Ship tracking data cited by Reuters shows that six Saudi-flagged supertankers have changed course in the Gulf of Aden, heading for South Africa instead of transiting the Bab Al Mandab and the southern Red Sea. These tankers are operated by Bahri. Trade sources say the diversion of these vessels, sailing empty on return from Asia, is linked to threats by Houthi militants against Saudi shipping. Reuters estimates suggest that the route around the Cape of Good Hope could add at least 25 days to voyages that would otherwise return to Saudi Red Sea ports via the Suez Canal.
This rerouting follows Houthi-imposed blockades on the Bab Al Mandab and attacks on Saudi-linked vessels, expanding the high-risk area in the Red Sea. Maritime security firm Ambrey has also listed vessels calling at Saudi ports as high-risk. However, not all shipowners have chosen to reroute: over the past weekend, two tankers carrying a combined 3 million barrels of Saudi crude successfully transited the Bab Al Mandab despite the blockade.
Bloomberg tanker data shows Saudi crude exports in July were approximately 4.2 million barrels per day, down 460,000 barrels month-on-month. Including cargoes still loaded on vessels lingering in the Arabian Gulf, the month-on-month decline is 230,000 barrels.
Iraq's State Organization for Marketing of Oil (Somo) is maintaining Basrah crude shipments through price cuts. Company documents show the agency is offering term buyers discounts of $25 to $27 per barrel for August-loading Basrah Medium crude and $27.8 to $29.8 per barrel for Basrah Heavy, depending on the loading window. These cargoes are sold on a free-on-board (FOB) basis from the Basrah Oil Terminal or Iraq's offshore single-point mooring facilities, all located within the Gulf.
Somo sells crude on loading terms, with buyers arranging vessels and bearing freight and transit risks. This risk has already had a tangible impact on shipping: following three tanker attacks, visible dirty product tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to 10 vessels on Saturday from 19 on Friday. Nevertheless, the VLCC Noble successfully loaded approximately 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude on Friday, bound for China.
Baghdad is also exploring alternatives. TotalEnergies is chartering VLCCs itself to supply Basrah Medium and Heavy crude to Asian refineries on delivered terms, shifting vessel arrangement away from buyers. Iraq's crude route via Syria is expected to handle around 50,000 barrels per day, roughly 1.5% of Iraq's pre-war southern exports, so this land-based alternative offers little relief.
Oil prices rebounded 1% in early trading today, driven by concerns over Middle East supply disruptions. Brent crude futures rose $1.12 to $84.89 per barrel (as of 03:55 GMT), while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained $0.77 to $81.11 per barrel.
Saudi Aramco raised its official August liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices by 6% to 7%. Traders revealed on Friday that the company increased propane prices by $40 per ton to $620 and butane prices by $40 per ton to $640. Aramco's monthly LPG prices are widely used as a benchmark for Middle Eastern LPG exports to the Asia-Pacific market.
The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk index rose 4.1% to 2,843 points on Monday. The index tracks freight rates across three segments—Capesize, Panamax, and Supramax—with the Capesize index up 6.2% to 4,564 points, the Panamax index up 2.3% to 2,135 points, and the Supramax index at 1,610 points.
