Saudi Aramco notified European customers it will suspend all long-term crude oil shipments for October.
The decision follows a drone attack by Yemen’s Ansarallah movement on the East-West pipeline. This strike disabled a critical export route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.
The supply halt forces European refiners to seek alternative crude sources during a period of high geopolitical tension. This disruption tightens the global supply-demand balance and adds upward pressure to Brent crude prices. The cancellation directly impacts market sentiment for energy sector ETFs such as VDE and XLE.