Saudi oil supply disruption hits Europe, Czech refineries turn to other sources

Saudi Arabian oil company Saudi Aramco has told at least two European refinery operator customers that it will not supply them with any crude oil next month under long-term contracts. The move follows an attack on a Saudi pipeline transporting oil to the Red Sea. Bloomberg reported this today, citing sources familiar with the situation. It added that the missing Saudi oil will increase pressure on European customers to secure alternative supplies.

Polish energy group Orlen announced on Wednesday that it had secured 16 additional oil deliveries in recent days to continue supplying its refineries in Poland, Czechia and Lithuania. The additional deliveries were contracted from producers in Norway, the UK, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and the Americas.

Among other assets, the Orlen group owns Orlen Unipetrol, the largest refining and petrochemical company in Czechia. The Orlen Unipetrol group includes refineries and production plants in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou. The Orlen Unipetrol group also includes Paramo in Pardubice, Spolana in Neratovice, Remaq in Otrokovice and a research centre in Brno.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy announced last Friday that the strategic East-West pipeline had to be temporarily shut down following drone and missile attacks in the Riyadh and Medina regions. Polish Energy Minister Milosz Motyka said today, according to PAP, after talks with representatives of the Saudi government, that the damaged pipeline is expected to resume operations within two weeks.

The pipeline helped Saudi Arabia export oil without having to use the Strait of Hormuz. Shipping through the strait has been disrupted by the Middle East conflict, which was triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Iran at the end of February. Before the conflict began, around one-fifth of global oil supplies passed through the Strait of Hormuz.