Houthis Block Saudi Oil Exports, Routing Them Through Expensive Suez Route

Saudi Arabia has largely shifted its oil exports to the Suez Canal due to the Houthis' maritime embargo on Bab Al Mandeb. The strait, a key shipping route for Saudi oil, has seen no crude exports since the Houthis declared their embargo.

According to Kpler data, oil exports through the Suez Canal rose 106% in the week of the embargo announcement, reaching 1.06 million barrels per day. This is a significant increase from the previous week's exports of around 520,000 barrels per day.

The shift to the Suez Canal route is an expensive and time-consuming workaround for Saudi oil producers. A cargo from Yanbu on the Red Sea to South Korea takes about 24 days via Bab Al Mandeb, compared to 54 days via Suez and around the Cape of Good Hope.

Analysts believe that the Houthis' goal is to escalate gradually rather than seeking a full-scale war with Saudi Arabia. The group has claimed to have struck Saudi Aramco's oil facilities in Jizan and Yanbu, but neither the Saudi government nor Aramco has confirmed the attack.