Saudi Arabia oil exports: Ras Tanura, Yanbu and a system with two exits

Saudi Arabia oil exports ran at about 7.1 million barrels a day of crude in October 2025, the highest in two and a half years, according to data the kingdom reports to JODI. Before 2026 more than four-fifths of that left from Ras Tanura and other terminals on the Persian Gulf and had to pass the Strait of Hormuz. The rest loaded at Yanbu on the Red Sea, fed by the 1,200 km East-West pipeline from Abqaiq, the kingdom's only route to market that avoids Hormuz.

The dependency is that a system with two exits has had both closed in the same year. Hormuz shut on 28 February 2026, and Aramco pushed the East-West pipeline to its record 7 mb/d so that Yanbu could carry most Saudi exports. Then Yemen's Houthis declared an embargo on Saudi shipping in the southern Red Sea on 20 July, and drone strikes on pumping stations on 10 and 11 September took the pipeline out. Kpler reported no crude loading at Yanbu after 11 September, with Aramco building a bypass around the damaged sections and full repairs estimated at four to six weeks.

Key numbers

How the dependency works

Saudi crude is produced in the Eastern Province and processed at Abqaiq, then either exported from the Gulf coast at Ras Tanura, Juaymah and Ras al-Khafji or piped west to Yanbu. In the first five months of 2025, shipbroker Banchero Costa counted 83.7% of Saudi crude exports leaving Ras Tanura, 12.2% leaving Yanbu and 4.1% leaving Ras al-Khafji.

The buyers are overwhelmingly in Asia. Over the same period China took 24.3% of Saudi crude exports, Japan 16.5%, South Korea 15.4%, Southeast Asia 11.3%, India 10.0% and Taiwan 4.1%. Direct shipments to the United States were 3.3% and to the European Union 0.2%, while 11.2% went to Ain Sukhna in Egypt to feed the SUMED pipeline and reach European refiners through the Mediterranean. See crude oil and India's crude oil imports.

The East-West pipeline also feeds refineries on the Red Sea coast, which is why pipeline throughput and Yanbu exports are not the same number. Kpler put throughput at about 5.5 mb/d before the September attack, of which around 4.5 mb/d of crude was exported. Monthly loading estimates for Yanbu differ widely between trackers because of methodology, so single-month figures should be read as ranges rather than precise values.

Why it exists

Geography placed Saudi oil on the Gulf, and cost kept it there. The East-West pipeline was built in the early 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war precisely as insurance against a Hormuz closure, but for four decades it ran well below capacity because Gulf terminals are closer to the fields and to Asian buyers. Yanbu was the hedge, not the system, until 2026 turned it into the system. The hedge had its own exposure: tankers leaving Yanbu for Asia must pass Bab el-Mandeb, and those heading to Europe depend on the Suez Canal or SUMED.

Risks and disruption scenarios

The 2026 sequence is the reference case. After Hormuz closed, Saudi exports from Yanbu through Bab el-Mandeb rose from 240,000 b/d in June 2025 to 3.5 mb/d in June 2026, per Kpler data reported by CNBC. The Houthi embargo of 20 July made the southern exit dangerous for Saudi-linked ships, pushing more of Yanbu's output north to Suez and SUMED. The September pipeline strike removed 4 to 5 mb/d of capacity at once. Saudi Arabia said the drones were launched from inside Iraq; no group claimed the attack, and Kpler's reporting attributes it to the Houthis. With Yanbu storage at around 15 million barrels, Kpler's analyst estimated only about four days of loadings before tanks ran dry. Rystad Energy said a month-long outage would keep up to 120 million barrels off the market.

Reuters sources said Egyptian storage at Ain Sukhna and Sidi Kerir could supply some Saudi crude for several more days. Al Jazeera reported that Saudi Arabia was moving crude through dark shipments and ship-to-ship transfers off Oman while the pipeline was down. Remaining risks are a longer repair, repeated strikes on pumping stations, attacks on Yanbu itself and a Houthi campaign extending into the northern Red Sea.

Diversification efforts

• Pipeline bypass. Aramco is building a bypass around the damaged sections; unconfirmed reports cited by Kpler point to about half of Yanbu's throughput, 2 to 2.5 mb/d, returning within a month.
• Egyptian storage and SUMED. Crude held in Egypt and the SUMED pipeline give a short buffer for European supply.
• Transfers off Oman. Dark transits of Hormuz and ship-to-ship transfers off Oman, reported by Al Jazeera, move limited volumes.
• Security. Saudi Arabia leads the Multinational Maritime Defence Alliance, announced on 30 July 2026, to protect shipping in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden.

Historical incidents

What to watch

• East-West pipeline repair and Yanbu loadings: Aramco and Ministry of Energy statements, and Kpler and Vortexa loading data.
• Hormuz reopening: any durable corridor would restore Ras Tanura exports, which carry most Saudi crude in normal times.
• Houthi targeting in the Red Sea: whether attacks stay in the south or reach Yanbu-bound traffic in the north.
• JODI monthly exports and the official selling prices Aramco sets for Asian buyers.

FAQ

How much oil does Saudi Arabia export? About 7.1 million barrels a day of crude in October 2025, according to JODI data, from production of around 9.7 mb/d. Exports fell sharply in 2026 after the Strait of Hormuz closed and again after the East-West pipeline was shut in September.

Where does Saudi Arabia export its oil? Mostly to Asia. In early 2025 China took 24.3% of Saudi crude exports, Japan 16.5%, South Korea 15.4%, Southeast Asia 11.3% and India 10.0%, per Banchero Costa. About 11% went to Egypt to feed the SUMED pipeline to Europe, and 3.3% went directly to the United States.

What is the East-West pipeline? A 1,200 km crude pipeline, also called Petroline, from Abqaiq in the Eastern Province to Yanbu on the Red Sea. It is Saudi Arabia's only way to export crude without using the Strait of Hormuz. Aramco ran it at a record 7 mb/d in March 2026; drone strikes shut it on 11 September 2026.

Can Saudi Arabia export oil without the Strait of Hormuz? Partly, through Yanbu. The East-West pipeline can move up to 7 mb/d; before the September 2026 attack Kpler put throughput at about 5.5 mb/d, with around 4.5 mb/d exported and the rest feeding Red Sea coast refineries. Cargoes leaving Yanbu still face Bab el-Mandeb or the Suez route, both exposed in 2026.