Yemen Pressure on Saudi Oil Routes Pushes Aramco to Seek Alternatives

The website Orbex Observer reported that growing pressure from Yemen’s armed forces on Saudi Arabia’s western sea routes has complicated the kingdom’s oil exports and forced Aramco to examine alternative ways to serve Asian customers.

According to the report, a decline in shipowners’ willingness to send tankers through the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has placed pressure on Yanbu, one of Saudi Arabia’s main oil export ports on the Red Sea. The website said a recent warning to Asian refineries to look for other options also stemmed from these security concerns.

The report adds that pressure on Saudi Arabia’s oil arteries has highlighted the gap between Riyadh’s claims of military superiority and its ability to secure its infrastructure and shipping lanes. According to Orbex Observer, despite heavy military spending and efforts to project regional influence, Saudi Arabia is facing growing challenges in controlling the maritime environment around it.

The report says the consequences of this situation have also appeared in the reorganization of Aramco’s exports. The company is considering ship-to-ship oil transfers near Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, while some Saudi crude is also being routed through Egypt toward the Mediterranean Sea.

Orbex Observer described these route changes as significant, saying the main purpose of Saudi Arabia’s extensive export infrastructure has been to provide customers with reliable access to its oil. However, the website wrote that developments in Yemen are now affecting shipping lanes, oil logistics and Saudi Arabia’s relations with some of its most important buyers.

Saudi Arabia entered the war in Yemen in 2015 in an effort to shift the balance of power in its favour. But the report says that after nearly a decade, Yemen still retains the ability to pressure Saudi maritime infrastructure and Riyadh’s commercial and security calculations. Yanbu, on the Red Sea coast, is one of the important routes for Saudi oil exports to external markets.