No. of Recommendations: 2
This pipeline carries crude from its eastern oil fields to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, with a capacity to move roughly 5 million barrels per day. A bit more color, from the net sifter: exports through the Persian Gulf, by country:
Key Oil Exports via the Persian Gulf (approximate daily volumes):
Saudi Arabia: ~5.5 million b/d (mostly to Asia/Pacific).
Iraq: ~3.4 million b/d.
UAE: ~2.87 million b/d.
Kuwait: ~2.47 million b/d.
Iran: ~2.8 million b/d.
Qatar: ~700k b/dThe Red Sea is no cakewalk either. To avoid the Houthis, tankers would need to transit Suez from the Med, load, then back up through Suez.
Maersk is rerouting to avoid the Red Sea.
Rerouting of ME11 and MECL Service around The Cape of Good Hope
Due to the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East region following the escalating military conflict, we have decided – in close coordination with our security partners – to pause future Trans-Suez sailings through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait for the time being.
Until further, all sailings on the ME11 (Middle East-India to Mediterranean) and MECL (Middle East-India to East Coast US) services will be rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope. The safety of our crews, vessels and customers’ cargo remains our key priority and we will continue to monitor the situation closely and take all needed actions. We remain committed to minimising the impact on our customers’ supply chains and will continue to keep them updated on the situation. https://www.maersk.com/news/articles/2026/03/01/me...This would hurt Asian markets, a lot. If no-one wants to risk the Persian Gulf, or Gulf of Aden, they are restricted to obtaining oil from Malaysia, Indonesia, Canada, US, Venezuela.
Steve
