Saudi Arabia is planning to raise its crude oil export capacity through pipelines to approximately 10 million barrels per day (bpd), signalling a major push to strengthen the resilience of its energy export infrastructure. Announced by Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman at the World Petroleum Congress in Riyadh on 12 October 2026, the plan combines the temporary conversion of a domestic gas pipeline to carry crude oil with longer-term upgrades to the kingdom’s strategic East–West pipeline network. Saudi Arabia could add up to 1.2 million bpd of export capacity within seven to eight weeks through the temporary conversion, while further investments could deliver as much as 3 million bpd in additional capacity. The broader expansion is expected to take two to three years, positioning pipelines as an increasingly important part of the kingdom’s strategy to maintain exports amid regional instability and threats to critical energy routes.
Repurposing Existing Infrastructure to Expand Export Flexibility
At the centre of the plan is Saudi Arabia’s East–West pipeline, also known as Petroline, which transports crude from oil-producing areas in the kingdom’s east to export terminals at Yanbu on the Red Sea. The approximately 1,200-kilometre system provides an alternative to shipping crude through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic maritime chokepoint connecting the Persian Gulf with international markets. Saudi Arabia has increasingly relied on this route during disruptions to Gulf shipping, underscoring the importance of having infrastructure capable of redirecting exports when conventional maritime routes become difficult or unsafe to use. On 6 October, the energy minister said throughput on the East–West system had recovered to approximately 5.8 million bpd following an earlier attack and subsequent operational disruption.
The proposed conversion of a domestic gas pipeline offers a faster way to increase available oil-export capacity while longer-term upgrades proceed. Under the arrangement announced by the minister, Saudi Aramco can use the converted pipeline to transport crude until May 2027, after which it must be cleaned and returned to gas service ahead of the summer period, when domestic gas demand rises. Meanwhile, upgrades to pumping stations and associated infrastructure along the East–West system are expected to support the wider expansion. The strategy illustrates how existing energy assets can be adapted to respond to immediate supply-chain pressures without waiting for an entirely new export corridor to be built. However, the proposed 10 million bpd figure represents a future capacity target, not the volume currently being transported or exported through the pipeline network.
Pipeline Capacity Becomes a Strategic Energy Security Tool
Saudi Arabia’s expansion plans reflect a broader lesson from recent disruptions: energy security depends not only on how much oil a country can produce, but also on whether it can reliably move that oil to international markets. A pipeline connecting inland production facilities to a Red Sea export terminal gives the kingdom an alternative to routes exposed to instability in the Gulf. Yet that alternative is not risk-free. Pipeline infrastructure, pumping stations and export terminals can themselves be vulnerable to attacks or operational failures, making maintenance, physical protection and rapid recovery essential to the value of the system. The recent interruption and subsequent restoration of East–West pipeline operations demonstrated both the importance of the corridor and the need to protect it.
If implemented, the expansion would strengthen Saudi Arabia’s ability to redirect crude shipments during disruptions and provide greater flexibility in managing its export logistics. It also highlights the continuing strategic value of conventional pipeline infrastructure in a global energy market where geopolitical tensions can rapidly alter established trade routes. The immediate conversion project could provide additional capacity relatively quickly, while the longer-term upgrades would require sustained investment and execution. For energy-importing countries and oil-market participants, the key question will be how much of this planned capacity ultimately becomes operational and how effectively it can be used when alternative routes are needed. Saudi Arabia’s target is ambitious, but its significance extends beyond a larger pipeline network: it is an effort to make the country’s oil exports less dependent on any single route.
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