On the global energy shipping map, the passage data of two key straits is quietly being rewritten. The recent number of navigable ships in the Strait of Hormuz has fallen to a nearly three-month low, and the Mandeb Strait, thousands of kilometers apart, has also issued safety risk warnings. The core transportation channel pattern of global crude oil trade is undergoing a far-reaching structural adjustment.

Saudi Arabia accelerates reconstruction of export routes

According to statistics from shipping data agency Kepler, the daily crude oil exports from Egypt's Mediterranean port of Siddiquiriel jumped to about 2.3 million barrels in August, more than doubling from July and significantly exceeding the historical average of the past two years. The vast majority of incremental crude oil comes from Saudi Arabia, and this change is not a short-term temporary scheduling, but a long-term directional adjustment of Saudi Arabia's crude oil export layout.

Previously, Saudi crude oil heavily relied on the Strait of Hormuz for export from the Persian Gulf, then entered the Red Sea through the Strait of Mandeb, and finally reached the Mediterranean market through the Suez Canal. Nowadays, there have been navigation disturbances in two key straits, which directly drives Saudi Arabia to accelerate the layout of export routes that bypass the two straits. Relying on existing cross-border onshore crude oil pipelines, Persian Gulf crude oil can be directly transported to ports along the Mediterranean coast for loading and export, completely avoiding the navigation uncertainty of the two high-risk straits.

The global energy trade pattern is undergoing changes

After the implementation of this new export route, Saudi crude oil can be directly shipped from Mediterranean ports to core consumer markets such as Europe and North America, significantly reducing shipping distance while completely avoiding geopolitical security risks in the Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Mandeb, and improving export stability. Keywords: Saudi crude oil exports, Strait of Hormuz

Once this trend continues to solidify, it will directly change the traditional flow of global crude oil trade over the past few decades and further elevate the strategic position of crude oil hub ports along the Mediterranean coast. With the continuous adjustment of Saudi Arabia's export routes, the global crude oil shipping market's capacity allocation, insurance pricing, and route planning will all experience a chain reaction. This new export channel that bypasses the Two Straits is becoming a key variable in reshaping the global energy transportation map.Editor/Cheng Liting