Saudi Arabia Backs New Oil Pipelines as Hormuz Closure and Houthi Blockade Squeeze Export Routes

Saudi Arabia is developing additional oil pipelines to create alternative export routes, according to its energy minister, Abdulaziz bin Salman. He spoke at the ministerial meeting of the International Energy Forum, held as the 25th WPC Energy Congress opens in Riyadh on Monday.

The announcement comes while the Strait of Hormuz is closed and Houthi rebels from Yemen are attacking Saudi energy installations. The minister said the aim is to guarantee a continuous flow of supply to global markets. He argued that the cost of lacking alternative pipelines far exceeds the cost of building them, and that spending remains well below the potential losses from their absence during crises.

Pressure on export routes

Riyadh, the largest crude exporter in OPEC, faces growing pressure on its routes. The closure of Hormuz forced the kingdom to divert exports towards the Red Sea. The Houthis have imposed a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia in that area since late August. They have also attacked vessels linked to the kingdom, its energy facilities and its airports.

The minister cited the East-West pipeline as a proactive investment. It crosses the country from the eastern fields to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea and is the main Saudi alternative for exporting oil without passing through Hormuz. It is not currently at full capacity after an attack on 11 September attributed to pro-Iranian Iraqi militias.

He said the kingdom will not allow any party to obstruct its efforts and will take the necessary measures to secure continuity of supply. He also stressed that energy security is a shared global responsibility and that no nation can guarantee supply stability alone. Compromising it, he warned, threatens supply and also brings widespread economic losses.

Redundancy as insurance

The minister's argument is a business case built on insurance logic. Pipeline capital costs are visible and front-loaded, while the cost of disruption is diffuse and arrives during a crisis. By stating publicly that construction costs are far below potential losses, Riyadh is signalling that it treats route redundancy as core infrastructure rather than discretionary spending.

The episode also shows how concentrated chokepoints can be. Diverting exports to the Red Sea relieved one pressure point but exposed another, since the Houthi blockade and the damage to the East-West pipeline limit that fallback. This suggests that a single alternative route offers only partial protection, and that further pipeline capacity may be needed to give the system real resilience.

For investors, the message is that security of supply is being priced as a strategic asset. Operators and policy advisers in Europe and Iberia, who depend on global energy markets, may read this as a reminder that geopolitical risk can transmit quickly into supply and cost. That strengthens the case for diversified sourcing, domestic renewable generation, storage and electrification as hedges against external shocks.

The minister's call for shared responsibility may point to a push for broader cooperation among producers and consumers. It will be worth watching whether the pipeline plans are accompanied by timelines, costs or financing details, none of which have been disclosed. The pace at which the East-West pipeline returns to full capacity will also be a useful gauge of how quickly the kingdom can stabilise its export position.