Saudi Arabia Targets 10 Million Barrels Per Day Pipeline Export Capacity Within Three Years to Bypass Hormuz

Saudi Arabia aims to expand its oil pipeline capacity to destinations outside the Persian Gulf to 10 million barrels per day within two to three years by repurposing a domestic gas pipeline and investing in its existing East-West network, Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on October 12 at the World Petroleum Congress in Riyadh, according to Bloomberg, Al Arabiya, and gCaptain. The kingdom could add up to 1.2 million barrels per day of oil export capacity within seven to eight weeks by temporarily converting a gas pipeline for crude shipments, with up to 3 million barrels per day possible in total with further investment, the minister said. The East-West pipeline was carrying 5.8 million barrels per day as of October 6, following the resumption of operations after a September drone attack, the minister said last week according to gCaptain. The 1,200-kilometer pipeline links Saudi Arabia's major oil-producing fields in the east with the Red Sea port of Yanbu, allowing the kingdom to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, which has largely been closed since the outbreak of the US-Israel war on Iran in late February, Al Jazeera reported on October 6.

The 10 million barrels per day target would represent roughly one-third of Saudi Arabia's total oil production capacity and nearly double the East-West pipeline's current stated capacity of 7 million barrels per day. The constraint is whether Saudi Arabia can complete the expansion before the cumulative effect of Hormuz disruptions forces a sustained reduction in global supply, given that the EIA estimates global oil inventories are already falling by 1.9 million barrels per day in the third quarter of 2026.

Sources

Bloomberg, 'Saudi Arabia Eyes 10 Million Barrels a Day of Oil Pipe Capacity', October 12, 2026, bloomberg.com Al Arabiya English, 'Saudi Arabia eyes raising pipeline oil export capacity to 10 million bpd: Energy minister', October 12, 2026, english.alarabiya.net gCaptain, 'Saudi Eyes 10 Million Barrels a Day of Oil Pipe Capacity', October 12, 2026, gcaptain.com Al Jazeera, 'Saudi Arabia says East-West pipeline pumping 5.8 million bpd', October 6, 2026, aljazeera.com Egypt Oil & Gas, 'Saudi Arabia Targets Oil Pipeline Capacity of 10 mmbbl/d Within Three Years', October 12, 2026, egyptoil-gas.com U.S. Energy Information Administration, 'Short-Term Energy Outlook - Global oil markets', October 6, 2026, eia.gov