CNBC published on 12 August 2026 an article titled "Saudi Arabia Ramps Up Oil Exports Through Mediterranean Pipeline to Avoid Attacks in Red Sea" by Spencer Kimball and Deena Zaidi.
Following the Iranian-supported Houthi blockade of Saudi ships passing through the south end of the Red Sea, Riyadh is rerouting oil supertankers north through the Suez Canal even for oil destined for Asia.
The problem is that fully loaded supertankers sit too deep in the water to transit the Suez Canal. Consequently, they pump half the Saudi oil cargo into a pipeline on Egypt's Red Sea coast that conveys it across Egypt to an outlet in the Mediterranean Sea. The supertankers then transit the Suez Canal half loaded and reload the oil at the other end of the pipeline in the Mediterranean. Saudi oil exports departing the south end of the Red Sea are down 90 percent.
Because of the Houthi blockade, a higher percentage of Saudi oil is now going north to Europe rather than south to Asia. This may result in a boon for West African oil by making transport to Asia more competitive than oil originating in Saudi Arabia.
