Saudi oil shipments moving near Yemen again

Aug. 6 (UPI) -- After a halt due to militant attacks, oil shipments through a Red Sea strait near the coast of Yemen resumed during the weekend, Saudi Aramco announced.

In a statement Saturday, the Saudi Arabian Oil Co. announced oil was moving again through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.

"The company will continue to monitor the situation and remain ready to take necessary actions in efforts to constantly ensure the safety and reliability of supply to its customers through its wide network which has the flexibility to export oil through multiple ports," the announcement read.

Saudi Arabia announced a temporary halt to oil shipments through the waterway on July 25 after two of its crude oil carriers were attacked by the Houthi militia in Yemen.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the narrow waterway connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden is the third busiest oil transit route behind the Straits of Hormuz near Iran and the Strait of Malacca near Malaysia, respectively.

Bab-el-Mandeb is an at-risk route in the region because of its narrow shipping channel and position near a volatile Yemen. Because of the increase in oil exports from regional members of the Organization of Petroleum Countries to Europe, trade through the waterway has been on the rise.

Three years ago, however, EIA warned that instability in the region could keep tankers out of the region and forced to take the longer route around the Horn of Africa to avoid conflict.

Northbound shipments through the strait heads through the Suez Canal or the Suez-Mediterranean , or Sumed, pipeline.

The July attacks targeted two tankers operated by Saudi Arabia designed to carry two million barrels of oil each. No injuries are spills were reported.