16/10/2026 by Joel Thompson
Major oil producer Saudi Arabia is set to start increasing its capacity of onshore east-west pipeline to a new level of 10 million barrels per day (bpd) within two or three years.
The remark was made in Riyadh at the WPC Energy Congress by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the country’s energy minister. Bloomberg reports Prince Abdulaziz as saying:
“Energy resilience is beyond barrels of spare capacity, of pipelines and gigawatts of generation. It must also be measured by the ability to maintain, repair, reroute, substitute and recover. Above all, it must be measured by the ability to continue delivering under pressure.”
The Petroline pipeline carries crude oil some 740 miles to the Red Sea port of Yanbu. It currently has a capacity of 7 million bpd, enabling the country to bypass the Strait of Hormuz for most of its crude oil exports. This has been a lifeline for both the country and the global oil market. The proposed expansion would add a further 3 million bpd of capacity, taking it close to the country’s sustainable production capacity of 12 million bpd.
Present at the same event was CEO Amin Nasser of Saudi Aramco, which makes the Valvoline lubricant and coolant products. He said the company was working with the Ministry of Energy to study alternative routes for export and increase storage capacity overseas. He said that the company was also looking to limit damage and reduce risks by using innovative technologies to inspect affected facilities and restore them more rapidly.
You may also interested in:
Chevron reports on Hurricane Isaias effects
With the passing of Hurricane Isaias, US-based oil major Chevron has reported on how
TotalEnergies to invest in two Middle East pipelines
The chief executive officer of TotalEnergies has announced the intention to invest in two new pipelines to