India, in Infographics: Energy & Security
Saudi Arabia Shuts The Pipeline Feeding Its Red Sea Exports
Monthly Seaborne Crude Loadings, Split By Coast. Before The Iran War Almost Every Barrel Left Through The Persian Gulf; Since Late February 2026 The Kingdom Pushed Its Oil Out Through Red Sea Ports As Total Shipments Fell To Their Lowest Of The War. Now, Under A Houthi Blockade Threat, It Is Swinging Back To The Gulf — And On 12 September Shut The East–West Pipeline That Still Fed The Red Sea Coast.
Stacked Monthly Loadings In Million Barrels A Day. Yellow = Persian Gulf Ports (Ras Tanura, Ju’aymah); Red = Red Sea Ports (Yanbu). The Dashed Line Marks The Iran War, After Which Crude Was Pushed Out Through The Red Sea. Source: Reconstructed From Bloomberg’s Chart; Vessel-Tracking Data Compiled By Bloomberg.
August Mb/D — A War Low
3.23
Total Seaborne Crude, 1–23 August — The Lowest Since The Iran War Began In Late February.
The Flip
Gulf → Red Sea
Before The War Almost All Crude Left By The Persian Gulf; Through The War The Red Sea Carried The Majority.
Pipeline Shut
12 Sep
Saudi Authorities Closed The East–West (Petroline) Line That Feeds Yanbu On The Red Sea Coast.
Gulf Mb/D In August
~0.5
Persian Gulf Loadings Had Collapsed From Their ~5 Mb/D Pre-War Norm — But Are Now Turning Back Up.
What The Chart Says
The Coast Saudi Arabia Ships From Has Become A Weathervane For The War. For A Year Almost Every Barrel Left Quietly Through The Persian Gulf. The Iran War Flipped That — Crude Was Pushed Out Via The Red Sea Even As Total Exports Fell To A War Low Of 3.23 Million Barrels A Day. Now The Houthi Blockade Threat Is Turning The Kingdom Back Toward The Gulf, And By Shutting The East–West Pipeline On 12 September It Has Cut The Last Line Feeding The Red Sea Coast.
How To Read It
Persian Gulf (Yellow)
Crude Loaded At Ras Tanura And Ju’aymah On The Gulf Coast. Through 2025 This Was Almost The Whole Bar — Around 5 Million Barrels A Day.
Red Sea (Red)
Crude Loaded At Yanbu On The Red Sea. A Thin Cap Before The War, It Becomes The Bulk Of A Much Shorter Bar Once The Iran War Begins.
The 12 September Shock
The East–West (Petroline) Pipeline Carries Gulf Crude Across The Country To Yanbu. Shutting It Chokes The Red Sea Route And Forces Still More Oil Back Through The Gulf.
How This Was Built
The Data
Monthly Saudi Seaborne Crude Loadings, Split Between Persian Gulf And Red Sea Ports. May (3.65) And August 1–23 (3.23) Totals Are Bloomberg’s Stated Figures; The Month-By-Month Split Is Read From Bloomberg’s Published Chart.
Sources
Vessel-Tracking Data Compiled By Bloomberg From AIS Signals, EU Sentinel Satellite Images And Kpler & Vortexa. The 12 September Pipeline Shutdown Is A Later Development Added For Context.
Source: Bloomberg, ‘Satellites Show Saudi Arabia Loading More Oil In Persian Gulf’ (26 August 2026). Retrieved 12 September 2026.
