Saudi Arabia Diversifies Oil Exports Through Suez Canal Amid Red Sea Attacks
Saudi Arabia has started relying more heavily on the Suez Canal to transport its oil exports due to attacks in the Red Sea, which have made an alternative route hazardous.
The kingdom's oil shipments from its western coast have increased significantly since the conflict began, with approximately 4.9 million barrels per day being transported through the Suez Canal, up from a previous range of 700,000 to 1 million barrels per day.
Rerouting these barrels through the Suez Canal presents logistical challenges, including fully loaded very large crude carriers that sit too deep in the water to cross the canal. Operators can address this by unloading part of the cargo into the Sumed pipeline before entering the Suez Canal or transferring it to smaller vessels.
The shift is expected to have a significant impact on oil prices, with Brent crude trading near $97 a barrel on Friday after briefly climbing above $100. Analysts at Goldman Sachs have indicated that further supply disruption could push prices to $120.