Crude loadings at Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port of Yanbu have continued despite an Iranian attack on Wednesday on the country's East-West Pipeline, sources at two buyers from the port and a third trading source told Reuters on Thursday.

Saudi state oil firm Aramco declined to comment.

Iran attacked the 7-million-barrel-per-day pipeline hours after a ceasefire was agreed to pause the Iran war, an industry source told Reuters on Wednesday, targeting its only oil export route since hostilities began.

The source added that flows through the pipeline were expected to be affected, and that damage was being assessed.

The port is the only outlet for Saudi Arabia's crude exports as a de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz hinders exports from the world's biggest oil exporter.

In March, Yanbu crude loadings averaged 3.3 million bpd, according to Kpler, up from just under 800,000 bpd in February. It has a maximum capacity to export about 5 million bpd.

Aramco is directing roughly 2 million bpd of the pipeline flows to feed its refineries in the west, it said last month.

(Reuters)