Aramco Group usually exports crude oil from ports in the Persian Gulf, but the airstrike near the Strait of Hormuz on March 1 led to ship congestion. Then, on March 2, Iran announced the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Therefore, Saudi Aramco is considering a plan to transport more goods to Yanbu, a port in the Red Sea located outside the Persian Gulf, where dozens of ships are anchored.
This world's largest oil exporter has an inland oil pipeline with a capacity of 5 million barrels per day. This oil pipeline can transport crude oil from fields in the east to the Red Sea in the west.
Bloomberg sources said that the company has contacted a number of customers in Asia to see if it can receive oil shipments from Yanbu port on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia.
A source added that the company is also surveying ship owners to see if they are willing to reroute cargo from the Persian Gulf to this port.
Saudi Arabia's oil export company has faced the impacts of escalating conflict in the Middle East, after being forced to close its largest oil refinery in Ras Tanura in the Persian Gulf after a drone strike.
The slowdown of maritime traffic has raised concerns about the filling of oil tanks in the area, which could ultimately lead to production cuts.
