Saudi Arabia is considering expanding the capacity of its East-West crude pipeline by as much as 2 million barrels per day, allowing more Saudi—and potentially neighboring Gulf—oil to reach global markets without passing through the world's most strategically vulnerable chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz.
The discussions are still preliminary. After five months of war, tanker disruptions, and Iranian threats to commercial shipping, Gulf producers are treating the Strait as a liability to be reduced.
The existing East-West pipeline, built in the early 1980s, can move up to 7 million bpd from the kingdom's eastern oil fields to the Red Sea export terminal at Yanbu. During the Hormuz crisis, it became Saudi Arabia's most valuable piece of energy infrastructure, allowing millions of barrels to bypass the Persian Gulf altogether.
Now Riyadh appears ready to double down. According to Reuters, Saudi Arabia has already held preliminary discussions with neighboring producers, including Kuwait, about expanding the system.
