Saudi Crude Prices May Rise as Red Sea Blockade Adds Shipping Costs

Saudi Arabia's oil giant Aramco is considering increasing the price of crude it ships to Asia by up to $5 per barrel due to higher shipping costs caused by the Houthi maritime blockade in the Red Sea.

The rerouting of oil flows from Yanbu to Ain Sukhra port in Egypt, and then through the Suez-Mediterranean pipeline, has added significant expenses. One source estimated that this detour could cost an extra $10 million per cargo.

Traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has slowed down, forcing some vessel owners to take the longer route around Africa, which extends the journey by about a month and increases costs.