The sharp drop of 1.9 million barrels from July stemmed from the Iran conflict disrupting the Strait of Hormuz, forcing reliance on the East-West pipeline to Yanbu—which itself faced drone strikes from Iraq, sparking massive fires and a 100-kilometer smoke plume southeast of Medina.
Exports fell around 40% to 3.1 million barrels
daily, pushing Brent crude above $108 per barrel and combined Saudi-Russian
output lower per IEA data. Saudi drew from storage to hit a 7.122 million
barrels 'supply to market' figure, but analysts warn of ongoing strain on
global energy markets if disruptions persist.