Asian Refiners Ask Aramco to Redirect Saudi Crude Pickups to Egypt's Mediterranean Coast
At least two Asian refiners want Saudi cargoes loaded at Sidi Kerir rather than Yanbu, as Houthi attacks make Red Sea shipments increasingly untenable.
At least two Asia-based refiners asked Saudi Aramco on Monday (2026-08-17) to redirect their crude pickups to Egypt's Sidi Kerir Mediterranean terminal for September cargoes, anonymous trading sources told Bloomberg. The requests mark a shift: buyers, not just sellers, are now restructuring physical supply chains around the Houthi maritime threat.6
The scale of the disruption at Yanbu explains the pressure. Crude loadings there had fallen to around 2.39 million barrels per day by June 2026, down 41% from the March peak and 66% below the roughly 7.96 million bpd Saudi Arabia was exporting across both Gulf and Red Sea terminals in January 2026, according to OilPrice.com reporting. Saudi Arabia had redirected virtually all exports through its East-West pipeline to Yanbu at the start of the conflict, concentrating its exposure precisely where Houthi targeting subsequently intensified.4
The Sidi Kerir request redirects that flow entirely. Under the proposed arrangement, crude piped west through the East-West pipeline would then move north via Egypt's SUMED pipeline — running from Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea coast to Sidi Kerir on the Mediterranean — and load there for Asian delivery. The SUMED pipeline can handle around 2.5 million barrels per day at full capacity.3
Shipowners have been adapting on a parallel track. Tankers including vessels from the Sinokor Group are shuttling Saudi crude north through the Red Sea toward Suez rather than south through the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint, Rigzone reported on Friday (2026-08-21). That northern routing avoids the stretch where Houthi targeting has concentrated, but it adds distance and cost.7
Aramco is weighing whether to formalize the Sidi Kerir path with dedicated pricing. The producer informed at least two Chinese refiners it may introduce a separate official selling price for oil loaded at Sidi Kerir for Asian delivery, traders told Rigzone in reporting published Wednesday (2026-07-29). The mechanism, its starting date, and its price differential relative to Yanbu cargoes remain unresolved, the traders said, adding they were not authorized to speak publicly.5
Most Chinese, Indian, and Taiwanese refiners are still picking up cargoes from Yanbu under existing arrangements, Bloomberg's sources said. The two refiners requesting the Sidi Kerir option represent early movers, not a broad market shift — yet the dynamic could change if Aramco formalizes an alternative price.6
The threat driving all of this shows no sign of easing. The "Bab el-Mandeb risk picture is deteriorating," an analyst at MarineTraffic said on Wednesday (2026-07-22), after Houthi rebels said they would seek to impose a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia. If Bab el-Mandeb faces sustained disruption from a declared Houthi naval blockade, Asia would lose a major crude supply artery, the analyst noted.2
ICE Brent crude front-month was trading at $91.66 per barrel as of 2026-09-01 at 07:41 UTC, well below the $98 level reported when rerouting talks first became public in July 2026. That gap suggests markets have partially priced in some supply adaptation, even as physical rerouting remains incomplete and Aramco's new pricing mechanism is still being designed.3
Saudi Aramco announced plans in May 2026 to move more than 5 million barrels per day through alternative routes as part of its response to the disruption, and industry estimates at that time described existing infrastructure as capable of handling around 5 million bpd. Whether that capacity has been fully deployed or held in reserve against a worst-case Bab el-Mandeb closure is not specified in available reporting.1
The next concrete signal is whether Aramco publishes a Sidi Kerir official selling price for Asian buyers and what discount or premium it carries relative to the Yanbu formula. A formal price would indicate Aramco treats this as a durable route rather than an emergency workaround — and would give Asian refiners a cleaner basis for term contract negotiations in a supply chain that currently runs on improvised logistics and unnamed sources.5