In the context of conflict with Iran causing the Hormuz Strait to be almost blocked, Saudi Arabia quickly activated a contingency plan, gradually restoring oil flows to the world.
According to oil tanker tracking data, the kingdom's oil exports have recovered to more than half of the normal level - an early sign that the "Homuz avoidance" plan is taking effect.
The focus of the strategy is a pipeline about 1,200km long leading oil from the east to Yanbu port on the Red Sea coast. From here, oil is pumped onto oil tankers to be transported to the international market, instead of passing through the Strait of Hormuz - a route accounting for about 20% of global oil flow.
In the last 5 days, oil exports from Yanbu averaged about 4.19 million barrels/day - a sharp increase compared to about 1.4 million barrels/day before the conflict broke out. This figure accounts for the majority of Saudi Arabia's total exports of about 7 million barrels/day before the war.
At some points, cargo handling output at Yanbu even reached 4.65 million barrels/day - showing that operating capacity is being pushed closer to the threshold.
In parallel with increasing pipeline capacity, Saudi Arabia is also deploying a large-scale oil tanker fleet. Dozens of VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) and Suezmax oil tankers (large oil tankers, designed with maximum sizes that can pass through the Suez Canal without reloading) are concentrated off the Red Sea to wait to load cargo.
At least 32 large ships have anchored near Yanbu, while many other ships are still on their way to approach the area. The "ship congestion" phenomenon shows that the speed of oil flow redirection is very fast, even though the infrastructure system is under great pressure.
Amidst a serious disruption to global supply, Saudi Arabia is almost the only country in the region with a viable alternative, according to Bloomberg.
Other producers in the Gulf region are forced to cut production due to unemployment, while warehouses are gradually fulling. The International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that this could be the biggest supply disruption in the history of the oil market.
The UAE also has an oil pipeline to the Gulf of Oman, but operations have been interrupted many times due to UAV attacks targeting Fujairah port.
In that context, Saudi Arabia's Yanbu line has become a rare "safe valve" to help maintain energy flow.
Despite significant progress, export redirection still cannot fully compensate for the role of the Strait of Hormuz. Experts warn that short-term data may fluctuate sharply, while security risks in the Red Sea remain present.
Saudi Arabia said it is prioritizing supplying oil to long-term customers and allows receiving goods from Yanbu instead of Gulf ports. However, the national oil and gas company Saudi Aramco has not announced detailed production plans.
