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Saudi oil detour routes add about $5 per barrel, Aramco seeks pricing fixes
The logistical change reportedly makes Saudi crude structurally more expensive, adding roughly $10 million in freight and other charges for a 2 million barrel shipment.
OilPrice reports that Saudi crude shipments are increasingly taking a longer route west across Saudi Arabia to Yanbu, then north via the Red Sea to Egypt, across the SUMED pipeline from Ain Sokhna to Sidi Kerir, and onward through the Mediterranean before tankers sail around the Cape of Good Hope to reach customers in Asia.
The outlet says the detour adds around $5 per barrel once extra freight, fuel, insurance, and pipeline charges are included. For a two million barrel cargo, that cost increase would approach $10 million.
OilPrice adds that Aramco is considering a separate pricing mechanism for crude loaded from Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Sidi Kerir, since its normal Asian official selling price no longer reflects the changed logistics.
The report argues that avoiding the Strait of Hormuz has made Saudi oil structurally more expensive, with the East-West Pipeline serving as a key option to route crude to Yanbu without transiting Hormuz.
OilPrice further notes that Aramco ramped the pipeline up to maximum capacity as a defense against shipping disruption.
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