Aramco Eyes Fujairah Oil Deliveries to Bypass Hormuz Strait

Saudi Aramco is reportedly in talks to transport oil outside the Strait of Hormuz via Fujairah, an Emirati port on the Gulf of Oman. According to Reuters, the company would propose ship-to-ship transfers off Fujairah for Arab Medium and Arab Heavy crude with near-term loading dates.

This arrangement would benefit Asian refiners by avoiding war-risk insurance premiums, crew safety risks, and transit delays. The Strait has been closed since a joint US-Israeli air offensive against Iran triggered Tehran to shut down the waterway.

The Red Sea had become Riyadh's main safety valve for crude exports via the transcontinental East-West pipeline to the Yanbu terminal. However, Saudi Arabia is caught between two hostile chokepoints, prompting it to seek an alternative outlet on the Gulf of Oman side.