Saudi Arabia Bypasses Strait of Hormuz, Yanbu Port Oil Exports Surge to Historic Peak

Amidst ongoing tensions in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is reshaping its crude oil export routes at an unprecedented pace.

Saudi Arabia has extensively activated the East-West Pipeline, diverting crude oil originally exported via the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea port of Yanbu to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Data from shipping analytics firm Kpler shows that since March, crude oil loading at the Port of Yanbu has climbed to a daily average of approximately 3.4 million barrels. Since this week, it has even briefly surpassed 4.5 million barrels per day, with some single-day flows exceeding 5 million barrels, setting a historical record.

Kpler analysts Emmanuel Belostrino and Jashan Prema stated, "This marks uncharted territory for the Red Sea transport system, highlighting the massive scale of this route adjustment."

East-West Pipeline at Full Capacity, Yanbu Export Volumes Double

Saudi Arabia began the large-scale activation of the East-West Pipeline earlier this month, transporting crude oil from eastern oil fields and processing centers along the Persian Gulf coast to the Port of Yanbu on the west coast. According to Kpler data, the pipeline has a design capacity of approximately 7 million barrels per day (bpd), while the estimated upper limit of Yanbu's loading capacity is around 4.5 million bpd.

Since the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia has doubled its crude oil export volume from the Port of Yanbu in just over two weeks. As of this week, the average daily loading at Yanbu's North and South Terminals has approached 4.5 million barrels, nearing the port's physical limit.

In terms of flow direction, the majority of export volumes are currently still heading east. Kpler data shows that India and China together account for about half of Yanbu's shipments. So far this month, the two countries have received a combined average of approximately 1.5 million barrels per day, replacing volumes that were typically loaded from Saudi Arabia's Persian Gulf coast.

Red Sea Congestion Becomes Key Bottleneck, Delays Reach Five Days

However, the rapid surge in export volumes is creating new logistical pressures. Kpler analysts noted that there are currently more than 30 tankers waiting offshore at the Port of Yanbu, a record high, with loading wait times extending to approximately five days this week.

Congestion at Red Sea ports is becoming the core constraint of this bypass plan. Although the East-West Pipeline still has surplus transport capacity, the loading capacity of the Port of Yanbu is capped at approximately 4.5 million bpd. Combined with the large backlog of tankers, the actual achievable export scale is significantly compressed.

Despite Saudi Arabia's efforts to increase the throughput of alternative channels, the overall supply gap remains difficult to fully bridge—the roughly 15 million barrels per day previously handled by the Strait of Hormuz far exceeds the capacity limit of any single alternative route, further exposing the fragility of the global energy supply chain.