Saudi Oil Exports Surge as Aramco Diversifies Route Amid Houthi Threats

Saudi Arabia's state oil giant Aramco has increased its crude oil exports from Egypt's Mediterranean port of Sidi Kerir by about 33% in the month since the Houthis threatened Saudi oil shipments in the southern Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, tanker-tracking data shows.

The newly established shuttle service runs from Aramco's Yanbu port on the Red Sea northward toward the Egyptian port of Ain Sukhna, where the oil is discharged and pumped onto the SUMED onshore pipeline to carry it to Sidi Kerir. At least four tankers have made the journey at least twice and shipped more than 16 million barrels of oil in recent weeks.

The northern route adds nearly a month to the time in which Saudi oil supply could reach refiners in Asia, but has helped Aramco increase its shipments via this route by about a third to 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd). Western ship operators and owners have been helping Aramco shuttle crude from the Red Sea.