Saudi Arabia is preparing to look for alternative destinations for its U.S.-bound crude oil in the event that President Trump adds tariffs or refuses to allow those shipments to offload, sources told Reuters.
Two sources told Reuters that Saudi Arabia was “looking into whether it could re-route the cargoes elsewhere if the United States halted imports.”
Saudi officials did not comment, according to the report.
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An oil tanker docked in Saudi Arabia.
“Oil traders active in European and Asian markets said there was expectation that the Saudis would look to divert the cargoes to other markets if a ban was imposed, in a move that would then put huge pressure on storage tanks in those two regions.
“’Europe looks full, but surely if the Saudis offer it at really cheap levels, buyers would take it,’” a source with an international trading firm said. ‘Some still have storage spaces or may agree to float it for some time.’”
The oil price war and the subsequent bottoming out of U.S. oil markets has turned into a political issue in the United States, with politicians from oil-producing states using the situation to heap criticism on Saudi Arabia and advocate for an America-first oil policy in recent days.
Last month, before OPEC+ agreed to sweeping new cuts, U.S. Senators reportedly expressed heated criticism on a call with Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the United States, Princess Reema bint Bandar, according to CNN.
On Tuesday, Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, said yesterday on Twitter: “My message to the Saudis: TURN THE TANKERS THE HELL AROUND.”
“Well, I’ll look at it,” Trump told reporters at a daily news conference after he was asked about requests by some Republican legislators to block the shipments under his executive authority.
