Saudi Arabia has resumed crude loadings from Yanbu after restarting the East-West Pipeline, improving the outlook for Middle East oil exports. Drone attacks, which Saudi Arabia blamed on Iraqi militias, forced the pipeline to shut on Sept. 11, halting Yanbu crude exports; operations resumed on Sept. 22. Saudi Aramco notified customers on Sept. 28 of its October Yanbu loading schedule, and an Asian refining source said a cargo was loaded late last week. TankerTrackers.com said ESA (European Space Agency) imagery showed nearly 10 million barrels of crude being loaded at Yanbu and Al Muajjiz on Sept. 27, alongside refined-product loadings and 40 tankers. Trade sources estimated Yanbu crude loadings at about 2 million barrels per day, while Kpler put current pipeline throughput at around 2.65 million barrels per day and forecast 3 million to 4 million barrels per day in the coming days. Kpler said returning to the pre-attack rate of roughly 5.5 million barrels per day could take another month. Hormuz crude transits had recovered to 9 million barrels per day on a seven-day average through Sept. 22, while gains from Yanbu and Fujairah lifted Middle East crude exports to just under 80% of pre-conflict levels.