Egypt offers Sumed pipeline to facilitate Saudi oil exports amid Hormuz closure

2026-03-03 - 18:34

Egypt is prepared to facilitate the transport of Saudi Arabian crude oil from the Red Sea port of Yanbu to the Mediterranean via the Sumed pipeline, Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi said on Tuesday. The statement follows a Reuters report citing three sources on Tuesday that Saudi Aramco has informed some buyers of its Arab Light crude that they must load shipments at Yanbu on the Red Sea coast. This move is intended to allow the company to avoid the Strait of Hormuz following attacks on maritime shipping, according to the sources. Aramco declined to comment on the matter. The state-owned oil giant is studying the option of delivering more shipments to Yanbu, a port located outside the Arabian Gulf, where dozens of ships are currently waiting as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed. While Aramco typically exports the majority of its crude from ports within the Gulf, a strike over the weekend led to a backlog of vessels. The world’s largest oil exporter operates a cross-country pipeline with a capacity of 5m barrels per day that can transport oil from fields in the east to the Red Sea in the west. Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the shift. People familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity as the discussions are private, told Bloomberg that Aramco has asked some customers in Asia if they can receive oil shipments from Yanbu. Shipping companies are also being surveyed to check if they will switch loading operations to the Red Sea port instead of the Arabian Gulf, according to one person. Aramco has already faced consequences from the widening conflict in the Middle East, having been forced to close its largest refinery in Ras Tanura in the Arabian Gulf following a drone attack. The slowdown in maritime traffic has also raised concerns that storage tanks in the region could reach capacity, which may eventually lead to production cuts. The Sumed pipeline does not constitute a direct alternative to the Strait of Hormuz but acts as a complementary link within a broader logistical chain. The line extends within Egypt from Ain Sokhna on the Gulf of Suez to Sidi Kerir on the Mediterranean, with a capacity of approximately 2.5m barrels per day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Sumed is managed under a joint Arab ownership structure led by Egypt, which holds a 50% stake through the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation. Other shareholders include Saudi Aramco with 15%, Kuwait with 15%, the UAE’s Mubadala with 15%, and QatarEnergy with 5%, according to official company data. The pipeline is typically used to transport crude that arrives at the Red Sea to the Mediterranean for re-shipment to Europe, bypassing the Suez Canal in certain cases. In a scenario where the Strait of Hormuz is closed, Sumed cannot compensate for the disruption alone; its use requires oil to first reach the Red Sea, such as through Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline or other maritime routes, to then serve as a tool for passing supplies toward the Mediterranean.