Saudi Arabia Reroutes Oil Exports Amid Houthi Blockade

Satellite imagery captured on a Tuesday showed roughly 7 million barrels of crude loading capacity at the Ras Tanura terminal, Saudi Arabia’s largest export hub, with four tankers positioned at Ras Tanura and Ju’aymah—the highest concentration since a late-June surge. The surge coincides with a broader reshuffling of Saudi oil routes after Yemen’s Houthi militia declared a maritime blockade on July 20, targeting vessels linked to the kingdom.

Bloomberg

Since the Iran-related war erupted in late February, Saudi Arabia has repeatedly altered its export pathways. Initially, the kingdom diverted crude from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea port of Yanbu. The Houthi blockade forced a second pivot: oil is now moved northward through the Red Sea, off-loaded at Egypt’s Sumed pipeline terminal in Ain Sokhna, and shipped onward via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean. This detour adds two to four weeks of transit time and an estimated $5 per barrel in extra fuel and operating costs.

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• Persian Gulf loadings: 7 million barrels of capacity on a single day; four ships at Ras Tanura and Ju’aymah.

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• Average daily flows (first 23 days of August): 3.23 million barrels per day from Persian Gulf and Red Sea ports combined, versus a low of 3.65 million barrels per day in May—the lowest monthly level since the war began.

Bloomberg

• Yanbu berth occupancy: Satellite images covering ten days since July 22 show an average of three of seven crude berths occupied, down from an average of five berths between May 28 and July 17.

Bloomberg

• Vessel size shift: Earlier periods featured very large crude carriers (?2 million barrels each); recent movements involve Aframax vessels, each carrying about one-third that volume.

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• Sumed pipeline throughput: More than 1.9 million barrels per day in August, up from fewer than 650,000 barrels per day in June.

Bloomberg

• Egyptian export boost: Sidi Kerir port on the Mediterranean averaged 2.1 million barrels per day in August, compared with 0.7 million barrels per day during the first six months of 2026.

Bloomberg

Saudi Aramco declined comment on the increased Persian Gulf loadings and the new Egypt-based route. Amin H. Nasser, CEO of Saudi Aramco, said the company is “actively increasing” flexibility across all three export routes but provided no further details. The Saudi energy ministry also did not respond to inquiries.

Seattle Times

Satellite images are taken roughly every three days, so loading activity occurring between captures may be missed, creating uncertainty about the true magnitude of the Persian Gulf surge. While Kpler data confirm heightened traffic through the Sumed pipeline, the extent to which this compensates for reduced Red Sea volumes remains unclear.

Bloomberg

• “It adds another layer of complexity to the supply disruptions,” — Matt Smith, director of commodity research at Kpler, a maritime data firm

Seattle Times

Kpler analysts anticipate continued monitoring of berth occupancy at Yanbu and vessel movements through the Sumed corridor as the Houthi blockade persists. No specific future dates for policy adjustments or infrastructure changes were disclosed.

Bloomberg