Saudi Aramco is diverting crude exports to the Red Sea port of Yanbu as the ongoing Middle East conflict shuts down oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for 14 million barrels per day (b/d) of Mideast Gulf shipments.
The crisis, described by Aramco CEO Amin Nasser as the most severe the region’s oil and gas industry has ever faced, has forced Saudi Arabia and other Gulf producers to curtail production due to limited storage and export alternatives. Aramco plans to maximize the 7 million b/d capacity of the East-West pipeline linking its eastern oil fields to Yanbu, with Nasser asserting this will meet most customer needs. However, the shift cannot fully compensate for the lost Hormuz route.
Saudi Arabia’s crude output stood at 9.48 million b/d in 2025, with a maximum sustainable capacity of 12.2 million b/d. Last year, the kingdom exported 6.3 million b/d of crude and 1.4 million b/d of refined products, with 5.5 million b/d shipped via Hormuz from ports like Ras Tanura, compared to just 760,000 b/d via the Red Sea. Yanbu’s nominal loading capacity is 4.5 million b/d across its two terminals, though market sources estimate effective capacity closer to 4 million b/d—an untested threshold, with peak combined loadings hitting only 1.7 million b/d in August 2024.
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Storage and logistical hurdles further complicate the pivot. Yanbu holds about 22 million barrels, roughly 60% of its capacity, and struggles to accommodate all Aramco crude grades, with priority given to Arab Light and Arab Extra Light. Additionally, redirecting Asia-bound shipments risks exposure to Houthi militant threats at the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint, while northbound routes through Egypt’s Sumed pipeline to the Mediterranean add sailing time and freight costs for tankers navigating via the Cape of Good Hope.
Even at an optimistic 4 million b/d loading rate, Yanbu falls short of replacing Hormuz volumes, leaving Aramco’s export strategy under strain as European refiners capitalize on heightened demand with record margins in early 2026.
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