RIYADH — Saudi Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser revealed that Saudi Arabia is pursuing plans to expand its oil export capacity through Yanbu on the Red Sea to more than five million barrels per day, as shipping disruptions choke traffic through the Strait of Hormuz as a result of the Iranian war.
During a call with investors to discuss the energy giant’s first-quarter results, Nasser stated: “Regarding the two Yanbu terminals (North Yanbu and South Yanbu), they currently have the capacity to export approximately five million barrels per day, and we are working to expand that capacity further. Our objective is to exceed the five million barrel export threshold at these two terminals,” he said, adding:“The global energy market is losing approximately 100 million barrels of oil each week that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.”
Al-Nasser estimated that the oil market has lost nearly one billion barrels since the outbreak of the conflict at the end of February, noting that the disruption has adversely affected several sectors, including agriculture, semiconductors, transportation, and petrochemicals.
He further explained that prevailing forecasts suggest global demand growth this year may be limited to between 700,000 and 900,000 barrels per day if the closure persists, as consumers continue to ration usage amid ongoing supply disruptions. “Should shipping operations return to normal, we anticipate a strong rebound in demand growth, significantly exceeding the initial projections for 2026,” he pointed out.
Global energy supplies have been sharply squeezed by Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has curtailed shipping and driven prices higher following the US-Israeli war. “Reopening routes is not the same as normalizing a market that has been deprived of about one billion barrels of oil,” Nasser said, adding that years of underinvestment have compounded the strain on already-low global inventories. Aramco has used its East-West Pipeline to bypass Hormuz and transport crude to the Red Sea.
Source: Saudi Gazette