Saudi Aramco Expands Pipeline to Bypass Strait of Hormuz

The Saudi Aramco state oil company has initiated preliminary engineering work to expand its 1,200-kilometre East-West crude pipeline. The project aims to increase export capacity from 7 million to 10 million barrels per day, transporting oil from Abqaiq to the Red Sea port of Yanbu to circumvent the Strait of Hormuz.

This strategic shift responds to an effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz during the US-Iran war, which has seen over 130 tanker attacks and spiked freight rates. To reach a total crude capacity ceiling of 12 million barrels per day by the end of 2026, the company is also utilizing the Zuluf offshore field and repurposing a domestic gas pipeline. While some reports suggest the 10 million barrel target will take two to three years, CEO Amin Nasser confirmed that work on additional networks has already started.

Nasser stated that the disruption of global energy flows has contributed to inflationary pressures through higher transportation costs and shortages of food, fertilizer, and consumer goods. Simultaneously, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in the United Arab Emirates is weighing the construction of a third crude oil-export pipeline to the port of Fujairah to reduce its own dependence on the Strait of Hormuz.