Saudi Arabia Plans to Expand Red Sea Oil Pipeline by 2M Barrels Daily, Bypassing Hormuz Strait

According to sources cited by Jin10 on July 7, Saudi Arabia is planning to expand its crude oil pipeline toward the Red Sea coast to enable higher exports without routing through the Hormuz Strait. The expansion aims to add approximately 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of pipeline capacity. The existing east-west pipeline, built in the 1980s, currently can deliver up to 7 million bpd to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea.

The project, which requires coordination with neighboring countries, is estimated to take several years and cost billions of dollars. Strategic importance has increased since Iran's military operations began in February and disrupted Hormuz Strait shipping routes.