Aramco’s LPG exports have been halted since a support structure collapsed at the facility before the Middle East war started in February, sending prices higher and buyers scrambling for replacement supply. Since then, the conflict has resulted in the near closure of the main export route through the Strait of Hormuz, causing energy shortages in Asia and an LPG crunch in India, where it’s widely used for cooking.
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Aramco has told some buyers it hasn’t been able to carry out necessary repairs at Juaymah, some of the people said, asking not to be named because the information is not public. This means that even if the Hormuz Strait were to open, there won’t be any deliveries next month, they said.The Saudi company had said Feb. 26 that shipments from Juaymah “scheduled for the next few weeks will be cancelled”, without providing more details.
The February incident caused a major disruption to a niche segment of the oil market. Aramco is a key global supplier of propane and butane — fuels known as LPG. The closure of Hormuz further disrupted supply from elsewhere in the Middle East, causing major shortages of cooking fuel in India.
Aramco’s main LPG processing and shipment facilities at Juaymah are located along the Persian Gulf coast near the company’s biggest export terminal for crude and oil products at Ras Tanura. The Saudi energy ministry said earlier this month that processing facilities at Juaymah also suffered fires during attacks amid the regional war, without disclosing the extent of damage.
Aramco’s Juaymah facility accounts for 3.5% of total waterborne LPG exports for the global market, analysts at Kpler have said.
(Edited by : Juviraj Anchil)
