What Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline Needs to Go From 7 to 10 Million Barrels a Day
The East-West pipeline is rated at 7 million barrels a day. Saudi Arabia's energy minister says it may reach 10 million within two to three years.
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said in Riyadh on Oct. 12 that the kingdom may raise pipeline capacity to destinations outside the Gulf to 10 million barrels a day within two to three years. Bloomberg and Argus Media both reported the remarks, made at the WPC Energy Congress. The East-West line is one of Saudi Arabia's main bypasses of the Strait of Hormuz, so the target concerns the export route itself.
The minister's description of the East-West plan includes improved pumping stations and a temporary conversion of a domestic gas line to carry crude. The line is rated at 7 million barrels a day. Flows were 5.8 million barrels a day on Oct. 6, after a September drone attack, the minister said.
What the 10 Million Target Adds to Today's Rating
The East-West pipeline is rated at up to 7 million barrels a day of crude to Yanbu, the Red Sea port. Reuters, citing Aramco's chief executive in May, said about 2 million barrels a day feed refineries on the west coast and roughly 5 million go to export. Oilprice.com gives the line's length as 740 miles, also known as Petroline, and Reuters says it was built in the early 1980s.
Reaching 10 million would mean about 3 million barrels a day above that rating, the increase Argus Media describes. Measured from the 5.8 million barrels a day flowing on Oct. 6, the distance is about 4.2 million. Aramco's first-quarter results, published May 9, said the line reached its maximum capacity of 7 million barrels a day during the quarter.
Bloomberg, Argus Media, Oilprice.com and Semafor all report the 10 million figure from the minister. Semafor gives it without a per-day unit, while the other three specify barrels a day.
A Temporary Gas-Line Bridge and Its Limits
The fastest addition is a converted gas line. Bloomberg and Argus Media both report the minister saying it could carry about 1.2 million barrels a day of crude within seven to eight weeks, rising to 3 million with further investment. Semafor gives the early volume as about 1 million barrels a day within eight weeks.
The arrangement is temporary. Argus Media reports the 1.2 million barrels a day would be available until May, after which the line would be switched back to gas before summer, when gas demand peaks. Bloomberg adds that the line would need to be cleaned first. Bloomberg says the minister told Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser about the May date.
The kingdom is working with Aramco to make the line dual use. Bloomberg reports that pumping and compressor stations are being installed so the line can carry either oil or gas. Argus Media reports the minister saying the line could be used depending on conditions, and that the route of the gas line has not been disclosed.
Aramco's Export Routes, Storage and Neighbouring Producers
Aramco's first-quarter 2026 results reported adjusted net income of $33.6 billion, up from $26.6 billion a year earlier. WorldOil reports that Aramco increasingly relied on alternative export routes as shipping through Hormuz remained heavily constrained. Chief executive Amin Nasser called the East-West line a critical supply artery that helped mitigate the impact of a global energy shock.
Argus Media reports that Nasser said last week that Aramco is studying two new export routes, in addition to the three it already has. Argus Media describes those routes as at feasibility stage and probably several years from completion. Oilprice.com reports that Nasser said Aramco is studying additional crude export routes and expanding overseas storage. The two accounts differ on timing: Argus Media dates the remarks to the week before the minister's speech, while Oilprice.com places them at the same event.
Neighbouring producers are part of the picture. Argus Media reports that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are jointly developing a new Hormuz bypass pipeline, and that the minister wants it to be international rather than Saudi or Kuwaiti. Kuwait's oil chief said talks with Saudi Arabia and the UAE were underway to accommodate Kuwaiti barrels, Reuters reports.
Reuters, citing five sources, reported on July 7 that Saudi Arabia is in preliminary talks with some neighbours about adding up to 2 million barrels a day of capacity. Aramco declined to comment. Reuters also reports that Qatar is considering alternatives, including routes via Saudi Arabia.
Who Pays, and What the Price Picture Shows
Semafor reports that the minister said the government, not Aramco, is paying for the expansion. Bloomberg separately reports that the minister said use of the East-West line during the crisis had more than recovered its cost.
Reuters reports that it is unclear whether the expansion would upgrade existing infrastructure or build a new pipeline. One source said it would include a smaller second pipe for oil products, and that the project would take years, cost billions of dollars and require changes to the pricing mechanism for Saudi crude.
Semafor also reports that Goldman Sachs raised its year-end oil price forecast over the weekend before Oct. 12, citing thinning inventories. Semafor adds that wars in the Middle East and Ukraine are straining global oil supplies.
“Reaching 10 million would mean about 3 million barrels a day above that rating.”
Security Risks to the Red Sea Export Route
Bloomberg reports the East-West pipeline has been the key conduit for exports since the start of the US-Iran war. Reuters reports the Iran war began in February and halted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's blockade forced Gulf producers to shut in as much as 12 million barrels a day. Flows partly resumed after a preliminary US-Iran deal but remain below pre-war levels.
Semafor cites experts at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who warned that Iran is unlikely to stand aside as new export routes emerge. Argus Media links the plan to repeated attacks on key energy infrastructure, including the East-West line. It also notes that Saudi Arabia and the UAE have pipelines that can divert some output from the strait, which Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain do not.
Oilprice.com reports that Saudi Arabia diverted most of its crude exports away from Hormuz and shipped larger volumes through Yanbu. It also reports that Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen vowed in July to halt Saudi shipments through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the shortest route from Yanbu to Asian markets. The East-West line was out of service for about two weeks after drone attacks in September before it returned.
What Is Still Open
The 10 million figure is framed as a possibility. The minister said the line may reach that level within two to three years.
Several points are unresolved. The early gas-line volume is given as 1.2 million barrels a day by Bloomberg and Argus Media, and as about 1 million by Semafor. Oilprice.com and Argus Media differ on when Nasser's remarks about new export routes were made. Reuters reports it is unclear whether the neighbour expansion would upgrade existing infrastructure or build a new line.
The dated items are the seven-to-eight-week gas-line estimate and the May deadline, both of which come from the minister's remarks. Aramco had declined to comment on the neighbour talks as of July 7.
