Saudi Arabia weighs 2 million bpd Red Sea pipeline expansion to bypass Strait of Hormuz

Saudi Arabia is considering increasing the capacity of its east-to-west pipeline network, which links its oil fields to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, Reuters reported, citing five sources familiar with the matter. Saudi officials have begun preliminary talks with neighbouring countries about expanding that capacity by roughly 2 million barrels per day.

The aim is to reduce the region's reliance on the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway repeatedly constrained during recent tensions with Iran. It is not yet clear whether the plan would upgrade existing infrastructure or build a new pipeline; it could take years, cost billions of dollars and require changes to Saudi crude's pricing mechanism.

Iraq has already announced it is tripling oil exports through the Ceyhan pipeline to bypass the Hormuz constraint.