One of the leading oil exporters decided to focus on pipelines

Saudi Arabia plans to increase oil pipeline capacity to avoid using the Strait of Hormuz. Bloomberg reports this.

After long relying on existing capacity to export crude during the war with Iran, one of the leading oil exporters has decided to focus on pipelines and increase capacity by 40 percent.

As Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said, they plan to do this within two to three years. The pipeline, which bypasses the Persian Gulf, will be able to pump up to 10 million barrels of oil per day. Now the pipeline carries up to 7 million barrels per day.

Within seven to eight weeks, state producer Saudi Aramco could increase exports to 1.2 million barrels a day by using existing gas pipelines to transport oil, Prince Abdulaziz said at the World Energy Council Energy Congress in Riyadh. According to him, in the long term it is planned to modernize pumping stations on the East-West pipeline.

The minister highlighted the value of the East-West pipeline during the crisis, saying its use had more than repaid its cost. The route connects Saudi Arabia's eastern oil-producing region to the Red Sea, providing an alternative to transporting crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz.