Middle East conflict disrupts energy lifelines, Saudi Arabia may "slash" crude oil exports in May.

According to informed sources, due to disruptions in shipping logistics and price hikes caused by the Middle East war, Saudi Arabia is expected to halve its crude oil sales to its largest importing country China next month. These traders who declined to be named said that as the world's largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia plans to ship around 20 million barrels of oil to Chinese customers in May, down from the 40 million barrels allocated in April. This reduction in sales comes after the company raised its official crude oil prices to record levels. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the Iran war has severely disrupted energy flows. Saudi Arabia has the oil export route in Yanbu on the Red Sea, but this route cannot transport all the supplies that previously went through the Persian Gulf for export. Saudi Aramco raised the price of Asian crude oil, causing its premium to hit a record high. The Middle East war has now entered its second month with no signs of easing. Earlier, talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan over the weekend failed to reach an agreement. The situation escalated further, with US President Trump threatening to block the Strait of Hormuz, prohibiting all maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports from Monday at 10 am Washington time. The export capacity of Yanbu is about 5 million barrels per day, lower than Saudi's pre-war daily export volume of 72 million barrels mainly through Gulf facilities. Traders said that Asian refiners are currently only allowed to obtain Arab Light crude oil through this Red Sea port. The prices of Dubai and Oman crude oil, which serve as benchmarks for Saudi crude oil pricing, have also become increasingly volatile due to shortages caused by the war.