Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, fell 2.6% to close at $102.59 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures fell by around 3.5% to $89.38.
Satellite imagery has confirmed a “major operational recovery” at the Yanbu and Muajjiz terminals, according to a Kpler note published Tuesday.
A total of 12.5 million barrels were loaded onto nine tankers at Yanbu from Saturday through Monday, according to Kpler. Exports from Yanbu were disrupted by the drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline earlier this month, raising fears of another major hit to global supplies.
But Riyadh has restored flows through the pipeline to around 3.5 million barrels per day, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News on Monday. Its maximum capacity is 7 million bpd.
U.S. and Iranian officials, meanwhile, spoke to mediators on Monday as they try again to negotiate a deal to end the seven-month-long conflict.
Iran offered last week to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in seven days if the U.S. commits to the conditions in the failed June memorandum of understanding. But President Donald Trump on Saturday rejected Tehran’s proposal as oil exports through Hormuz recover.
Oil flows through Hormuz have hit a seven-day average 13.2 million barrels per day, which is 77% of the 17 million bpd that transited the waterway before the U.S.-Iran war, according to Kpler data.
The U.S. military provides protection to tankers from its Gulf allies and maintains a blockade against Iran’s exports.