Saudi Oil Flow Recovers to 75% of Pre-War Level as Gulf Ports Restart

The reopening of Saudi oil ports is a double-edged sword for climate and energy policy. On one hand, it alleviates supply disruptions that could have led to a new wave of coal-to-oil switching and economic instability that derails clean energy investments. On the other, it reasserts the centrality of Saudi crude in global markets and may slow the urgency of the energy transition by securing short-term affordability. The fact that the kingdom can now push over 4 million barrels per day through Yanbu alone demonstrates how deeply embedded fossil fuel logistics remain in the global economy.

Saudi Arabia is making a decisive return to normal oil export operations, with the first supertankers loading at its Persian Gulf port of Ras Tanura since early March and all seven berths at Red Sea terminals at Yanbu simultaneously occupied for the first time since the Iran war began. The reopening follows the US-Iran interim peace deal, marking a critical inflection point for global crude logistics after months of disruption that had forced the kingdom to reroute shipments via a 746-mile cross-country pipeline. Crude exports from Gulf ports have now recovered to at least three-quarters of pre-war levels, while Red Sea loadings from Yanbu have surged to an average of 4.1 million barrels per day in June, up nearly 500,000 barrels from prior weeks, as Saudi Arabia leverages dual-coast capacity to restore market share.

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The restart of Ras Tanura, the world’s largest oil port, is a powerful signal that Saudi Arabia can now rebalance its shipping mix, easing the chokepoint pressure on the Red Sea and re-anchoring crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

This operational normalization matters because Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest crude exporter and the linchpin of OPEC+. The Iran war had effectively closed the eastern export corridor, constraining global supply and forcing a reliance on the Red Sea artery, which itself was vulnerable to prolonged stress. The restart of Ras Tanura, the world’s largest oil port, is a powerful signal that Saudi Arabia can now rebalance its shipping mix, easing the chokepoint pressure on the Red Sea and re-anchoring crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Yet, the recovery remains fragile: an attack on a cargo ship in Hormuz on Thursday underscores that maritime security is not fully restored, and the market is watching whether peace terms hold. The simultaneous high utilization of Yanbu suggests that Saudi Arabia is not merely substituting one route for another but is actively pushing total export volumes higher—likely to compensate for production outages elsewhere or to reassert dominance in key Asian markets.

For supply chain managers and logistics operators, the ramped-up loading activity presents both relief and renewed complexity. The return of VLCCs to Ras Tanura eases the strain on the East-West pipeline and reduces the premium for Red Sea loadings that had driven up shipping costs. However, the bifurcated export model—with significant flows continuing from Yanbu—means that charterers must now contend with evolving port call patterns, longer ballast legs for vessels repositioning from Gulf to Red Sea, and insurance uncertainties around Hormuz transit. The data shows that tanker availability is tightening as demand returns: two VLCCs were at Ras Tanura’s sea island terminal on June 27, with another guided onto a berth, indicating a rapid scaling up. At Yanbu, the complete occupancy of all seven crude-loading berths signals that the terminal is operating at maximum throughput, which could create bottlenecks if exports ratchet up further.