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By Alex Lawler

LONDON/NEW DELHI, March 3 (Reuters) - Saudi oil giant Aramco is seeking to divert some of its crude exports to the Red Sea to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, sources said on Tuesday , after the threat of attacks brought shipping to a near standstill.

The world's largest oil company hopes to avoid production cuts by diverting oil to the Red Sea port of Yanbu , but sources, including buyers, traders, and analysts, have indicated that the East-West oil pipeline has limited production capacity and could become a target for attacks by Iran's allies.

The pipeline has a capacity of five million barrels per day, and in 2019 it temporarily transported seven million barrels per day after converting natural gas liquids pipelines to transport crude oil.

Secondary sources within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) indicated that Saudi Arabia's production level exceeded slightly more than 10 million barrels per day of crude oil in January.

Three sources said today that Aramco has informed some of its buyers of Arab Light crude that shipments must be loaded from Yanbu, adding that the company will assess demand and availability of crude oil and will inform buyers accordingly.

Richard Bronze, co-founder of the consultancy Energy Aspects, said, "There are logistical trade-offs involved, including reducing the capacity to transport natural gas liquids and the rate of ship loadings sustainably at the Yanbu crude oil terminal on the Red Sea."

Aramco declined to comment.

A source said Aramco shut down its largest domestic refinery in Ras Tanura yesterday following a drone attack.

An industry source had previously told Reuters that the company was considering all available options to avoid the strait, including using the pipeline extending from the Abqaiq oil field.

Global oil and gas prices surged on Tuesday as the US-Israeli war on Iran impacted energy production and exports from the Middle East. Tehran launched attacks on ships and energy facilities, leading to the closure of shipping lanes in the Gulf and the shutdown of production in Qatar and Iraq.