[Sources: Saudi Arabia has increased Hormuz crude oil exports this month and plans to further boost supply] Golden Finance reported on September 15 that informed sources revealed Saudi Arabia is seeking to further increase oil supply exports through the Strait of Hormuz. The volume of crude oil transported through the Strait of Hormuz in the first 10 days of this month has already increased compared to August, and Saudi Arabia is now aiming to expand supply further. According to insiders, Saudi Arabia raised its overall export volume to nearly 4 million barrels per day at the beginning of September, with approximately 1 million barrels per day exported via the Strait of Hormuz and the remainder exported through Yanbu Port along the Red Sea coast. Previously, Saudi Arabia's export volume in August had dropped to around 3 million barrels per day, marking the lowest level in at least nine years according to shipping tracking data from Vortexa and Kpler. It remains unclear how quickly Saudi Aramco can increase Hormuz export volumes or by how much to offset the impact of pipeline shutdowns. Additionally, a shortage of oil tankers has become a limiting factor. Saudi Aramco declined to comment, and the Saudi Ministry of Energy stated that there is no additional information beyond the statement released last Friday. Two regional officials indicated that the East-West pipeline will be out of operation for several weeks. Meanwhile, U.S. Energy Secretary Granholm expects the pipeline to resume operations "soon."