strikeJul 23, 2026

Mideast oil producers step up plans to bypass the Strait of Hormuz

Summary

Mideast oil producers step up plans to bypass the Strait of Hormuz Before the war in Iran, roughly 15 million barrels of Persian Gulf oil were shipped each day through the Strait of Hormuz Before the war in Iran, roughly 15 million barrels of Persian Gulf oil were shipped each day through the Strait of Hormuz. Within a few years, much of that oil could bypass the strait. As Iran’s chokehold over the strait drags on and oil prices surge, countries across the Gulf are planning to spend billions of dollars to build pipelines enabling them to redirect more supplies to ports along the Red Sea, Suez Canal and Gulf of Oman. At least seven major pipeline projects are under construction, in the planning stage or being discussed as possibilities, according to government officials, oil companies and analysts. Even alternatives to Hormuz can become vulnerable, as Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have shown this week with a stated blockade on Saudi-linked vessels attempting to transit the Red Sea. But the war has been a wake-up call for Gulf oil producers, who are determined to become less dependent on a transit point that hugs Iran's coast. Some alternative routes will take the oil on longer and more expensive paths to market. Regardless, relying so heavily on the Strait of Hormuz “is no longer a prudent long-term strategy,” said Victoria Grabenwöger, a senior researcher at the data and analysis firm Kpler. The Red Sea and Gulf of Oman have become vital alternatives to Hormuz The effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz would have been an even greater shock to the world economy were it not for a pipeline Saudi Arabia built in the 1980s amid fears that Tehran would disrupt shipping through the strait during the Iran-Iraq war. The Saudis' East-West pipeline carries oil across the desert nation from a processing facility in Abqaiq to the city of Yanbu on the Red Sea coast. Once there, it is loaded onto tankers that head either south to the Arabian Sea or north to the Suez Canal. The United Arab Emirates has been sending more oil to the port of Fujairah, which abuts the Gulf of Oman, about 145 kilometers (85 miles) south of Hormuz. Combined, the two pipelines had spare capacity of about 3.5 million to 5.5 million barrels per day before the war began, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency. The two pipelines are now running near full capacity. More oil could begin flowing through a UAE port by next year The state-owned oil company of Abu Dhabi, one of the UAE's seven emirates, is accelerating construction of a $3 billion, 300-kilometer (200-mile) pipeline to Fujairah. That pipeline, which will run parallel to an existing one, aims to increase oil supplied to Fujairah by more than 1.2 million barrels a day. The project, which started before the war, is now reportedly about half-way completed, according to Kpler. The pipeline is intended to be completed by early 2027, but Kpler says mid-2027 is more likely given the need to expand the port at Fujairah. The ambitious timeline “has only become feasible against the backdrop of the Strait of Hormuz blockade,” Kpler's Grabenwöger said. Plans to pipe more oil to Turkey and Syria will take longer In Iraq, officials are ramping up plans to develop alternative export routes for southern oil fields around Basra. Iraq is so dependent on the Strait of Hormuz that it has had to scale back production. The Iraqi government, which gets some 90% of its revenues from oil sales, has been pursuing pipeline projects with U.S. companies. One would take supplies from an oil terminal in Basra — through which more than 3 million barrels were exported daily before the war — to the port of Ceyhan in Turkey, along the Mediterranean Sea. That pipeline would also have a branch extending to the Mediterranean port of Baniyas in Syria. Some 2 million barrels a day of oil could ultimately flow through the pipeline to Baniyas, which the U.S. State Department has called “a critical energy corridor.” Iraqi officials have also held discussions with Jordan on advancing long-discussed plans for a pipeline that would carry oil from Basra to Aqaba. From there it would be exported via the Red Sea or the Suez Canal to Asia and beyond. The new pipelines will add time and costs — and are also vulnerable to attacks Taken together, the new projects to bypass Hormuz could carry 3.8 million barrels of oil a day by the end of next year, and 7.3 million barrels per day by the end of 2028, according to analysts at the investment bank Goldman Sachs. They say some 60% of the Gulf's total prewar exports of 23 million barrels a day would be insulated from a Hormuz cutoff. Pipelines from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea send oil in the wrong direction to help Asian countries that relied on exports through Hormuz. Getting the oil to its final destination will require a much longer trip around the southern tip of Africa. Any additional supplies piped from Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea will also be vulnerable to attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen; the rebels have successfully disrupted shipping before at the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Ships loading at the port of Yanbu could use the Suez Canal instead, but the canal cannot accommodate the industry's largest tankers, which hold up to 2 million barrels per vessel and are often the most cost-efficient way to transport oil long distances. Even pipelines farther away from Iran are not immune to attack by the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard or militant groups allied with it in the region. The Saudi East-West pipeline was shut down by a Houthi drone strike in May 2019. As the Gulf's energy industry makes plans to divert oil supplies around Hormuz, there is an even more complex — and more expensive — problem they have yet to address: about one-fifth of the world's liquefied natural gas — much of it from Qatar — also transited the strait before the war. ___ Associated Press writer Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed.

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David McHughBy David McHugh
Mideast oil producers step up plans to bypass the Strait of Hormuz Before the war in Iran, roughly 15 million barrels of Persian Gulf oil were shipped each day through the Strait of Hormuz Before the war in Iran, roughly 15 million barrels of Persian Gulf oil were shipped each da…

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Jul 23, 2026strikeUnverifiedUSIsraelIranProxy

Will the Houthis escalate attacks on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait? | The Jerusalem Post

○ 1 source

Houthi forces in Yemen have stated that they conducted missile and drone strikes on two oil tankers, ENCELIA and LAYLA, in the Red Sea, claiming the vessels violated a maritime blockade and that the attacks caused fires onboard. These statements follow Houthi announcements of restrictions on shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and reports of Saudi opposition to flights into Sana’a airport amid broader US-Iran tensions.

Independent verification of the strikes and blockade effects has not been confirmed.

Location: Bab-el-Mandeb

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Jul 23, 2026strikeUnverifiedUSIsraelIranProxyRussiaChina

Oil prices surge towards $US100 mark after Red Sea attacks

○ 1 source

At least one Saudi oil tanker has been attacked in the Red Sea, widening the risks to energy supplies already disrupted by a near-halt to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The price of Brent Crude, the international benchmark, rose 5 percent to over $US98 a barrel as the violence raised fears of greater supply disruptions.

The Houthis, an Iran-aligned militant group in Yemen, said it attacked two vessels to enforce the maritime blockade it announced on Monday against Saudi Arabia. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in the Philippines on Thursday that the Houthis were making a mistake by menacing shipping in the Red Sea and joining the fighting in the Middle East on behalf of Iran.

“I hope that they’ll stop,” Mr Rubio said. “They got suckered into this by the Iranians.” The Houthis had largely stayed out of the US-Israel war on Iran during the opening months of the conflict, and Mr Rubio said they had been “smart” to do so. Mr Rubio said that one of the ships struck had actually been “flagged Chinese,” which risked angering another major world power.

Mr Rubio said he hoped the Houthis will de-escalate the situation, which threatens to further spike energy prices amid an already severe energy crunch due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The apparent attacks off the coast of Saudi Arabia come as the US and Iran battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz.

They imperil a second critical shipping route through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a narrow channel connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, which carries around 7 per cent of global oil supply. The scope of the Houthi blockade remains unclear. Even before Wednesday’s attacks, several vessels had already reversed course following the announcement of the Houthi blockade, according to ship-tracking data and analysis.

A statement issued by the Houthis identified the tankers as the Encelia and the Layla, which are listed as Saudi vessels by Kpler, a maritime monitoring agency. The Saudi news agency and a British monitoring group reported Thursday that one vessel had been struck, but did not confirm who carried out the attack.

A second attack has not been corroborated by maritime monitoring agencies. The targeting of the Encelia resulted in a fire at the bow of the ship, but all crew members remained safe, Saudi Arabia’s press agency reported, citing the country’s Transport General Authority.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations - a monitoring agency that is part of Britain’s royal navy - reported an attack on a tanker off the coast of Al Shuqaiq, Saudi Arabia, with a ship struck by an “unknown projectile” causing a fire on board. It did not disclose the identity of the vessel.

The Encelia departed the Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port on Monday and sailed south through the Red Sea, according to ship tracking data. After a short stop near Jeddah on Tuesday, the vessel continued southward toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. At around 10pm local time on Wednesday, around 800km into its voyage, the vessel appeared to make a sudden alteration of its course near Saudi Arabia’s Farasan islands.

Your cookie settings are preventing this third party content from displaying. If you’d like to view this content, please adjust your . To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide. Just over an hour later, ship tracking data shows the vessel’s navigational status changed to “not under command,” signaling an emergency or breakdown.

The vessel then appeared to come to a halt around 100 miles from Yemen’s shores. Maritime intelligence agency Lloyd’s List said in a research note Thursday the attacks on Layla are yet to be corroborated, but a “double blockade” on the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea could see Asian oil importers suffer as they are highly dependent on Middle East crude oil and derivative products.

The Strait of Hormuz saw around 20 per cent of oil and gas supplies flow through before the US and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran in February. It has been largely shut by Iranian attacks on commercial ships and mines in the five-month war.

Overnight, the two sides continued to exchange strikes for the 12th day following the collapse of a preliminary peace agreement signed in June. The economic insecurity brought on by the Iran war has dominated this year’s annual gathering of Southeast Asian nations known as ASEAN.

At the start of the gathering, foreign ministers representing the bloc issued a statement saying they were “deeply concerned” about the impact of blockades of key maritime trade routes in the Middle East. Southeast Asian nations have been especially vulnerable to energy shortages caused by the Iran war.

The strategic region is important to major powers including China, Russia and the United States, which all sent their top diplomats to the meeting. Mr Rubio expressed sympathy for the impact the war was having on Iran but accused Tehran of breaking the US-Iran memorandum of understanding designed to open the strait.

He said the US nevertheless remain open to a diplomatic solution. Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Victoria Craw; John Hudson; Imogen Piper The Washington Post Comments Comments

Jul 23, 2026strikeUnverifiedUSIranProxy

Oil prices surge toward triple digits after Red Sea attacks

○ 1 source

Oil prices rose on Thursday, with Brent crude increasing more than 5% to nearly $99 per barrel—its highest since June 3—and U.S. crude rising more than 4% to almost $91 per barrel, its highest since June 11. The increases followed claims by Houthi rebels of attacks on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea and an announced naval blockade.

Global benchmarks have climbed about 35% since the start of the month amid concerns over shipping routes including the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Location: Red Sea

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Jul 23, 2026strikeUnverifiedIranProxy

A new threat by Yemen's Houthis could widen the Iran war and put another trade chokepoint at risk

○ 1 source

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have declared a blockade on Saudi Arabia, potentially widening the Iran war and further disrupting global trade. They claim to have closed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Saudi-linked shipping in retaliation for a Saudi blockade on Yemen and a recent attack on the airport in Yemen’s rebel-held capital.

On Thursday, they said they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. The strait is a vital shipping chokepoint, with around 12% of global trade passing through. Houthi attacks on shipping would risk reigniting the war with Saudi Arabia, which has diverted millions of barrels of oil exports to the Red Sea as the Iran war has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz.

FATMA KHALED and AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press