The Kuwait National Petroleum Co. said it has halted all oil exports because of a sandstorm hitting the Gulf state. Mohammed Al-Ajmi, spokesman for the state-owned company, says exports were stopped early Wednesday and the weather forecast for the next 12 hours is not encouraging. However, he says the measure will not affect the company's commitments to its international clients because such emergencies are accounted for in its shipping plans. Kuwait pumps around 2.3 million barrels a day. It has three oil ports. Opec member Kuwait halted crude and oil product exports this morning due a sandstorm and bad weather, a spokesman for state refiner Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) said. Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia had no interruptions in its crude flow from its main terminal in Ras Tanura, a shipping agent told Reuters. Ras Tanura is the world's biggest offshore oil facility with capacity to load between 5.5 million bpd and 6 million bpd of oil. “There is a dust storm, it's windy, but operations are going on as normal,” the shipper said. Oil product exports from Saudi's Jubail refinery in the refinery were also unaffected, a third shipping source said.
