Aramco nears full pipeline capacity as Saudi Arabia reroutes oil exports

Tuesday 10 March 2026 - 15:50

By: Dakir Madiha

Aramco nears full pipeline capacity as Saudi Arabia reroutes oil exports

Saudi Aramco expects to reach the full capacity of its East West crude oil pipeline within days as Saudi Arabia works to maintain exports while the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed due to Iranian military control. Chief Executive Amin Nasser warned that the crisis represents the most serious disruption the regional oil and gas industry has faced and said a prolonged closure could have catastrophic consequences for global energy markets.

The 1,200 kilometer pipeline, known as Petroline, links Aramco’s eastern oil fields near Abqaiq to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, allowing shipments to bypass the Hormuz chokepoint entirely. The line carries grades such as Arab Light and Arab Extra Light crude from the kingdom’s main producing areas to the western coast.

Aramco plans to raise flows to the pipeline’s maximum capacity of about 7 million barrels per day. Roughly 2 million barrels per day of that volume supply domestic refineries along the Red Sea coast, leaving around 5 million barrels per day available for export.

Nasser said the company is currently meeting most customer demand by rerouting crude through the pipeline and drawing on domestic storage. He acknowledged, however, that the system cannot fully replace the large volumes that normally move through the Strait of Hormuz. Aramco has offered Asian buyers the option of loading cargoes at Yanbu instead of traditional terminals in the Persian Gulf.

Questions remain about whether Yanbu’s port infrastructure can handle the sudden increase in export volumes. Analysts and traders note that while the pipeline could theoretically carry 7 million barrels per day, the port’s loading capacity is far lower.

According to Argus Media, Yanbu’s two export terminals have a combined nominal loading capacity of about 4.5 million barrels per day, with effective capacity estimated closer to 4 million. The highest volume ever shipped from the port was about 1.7 million barrels per day in August 2024. Tanker freight rates departing Yanbu have more than doubled since the crisis began.

The Strait of Hormuz has remained effectively closed since Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared the waterway shut on March 2 following United States and Israeli strikes against Iran during Operation Epic Fury on February 28.

At least eight vessels have been damaged in the strait, and protection and indemnity insurance coverage has been withdrawn for ships attempting to transit the area. Saudi Arabia has already reduced oil production by up to 2.5 million barrels per day as exports through the route stalled.

Even with pipeline diversions, the gap created by the closure of Hormuz remains substantial. Around 20 million barrels of crude oil normally pass through the strait each day. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates operate the region’s only bypass pipelines, but their combined capacity is far below the volume typically shipped through the waterway.

Other Gulf producers, including Kuwait, Iraq and Qatar, lack alternative export routes and have been forced to cut output sharply as onshore storage fills. Nasser said Aramco could restore full production within days once the strait reopens.