Saudi Aramco is offering additional spot crude cargoes for loading from Egypt’s Mediterranean terminal at Sidi Kerir as the company seeks greater export flexibility amid renewed security risks to shipping in the Red Sea, according to trading sources cited by Reuters.

The additional cargoes are transported from Saudi Arabia to Egypt’s Red Sea port of Ain Sokhna before being transferred through the Suez-Mediterranean (SUMED) Pipeline to Sidi Kerir on the Mediterranean coast. According to trading sources, these spot cargoes are intended to supplement supplies delivered to Aramco’s long-term customers.

The move comes as Yemen’s Houthi movement has renewed threats to target Saudi crude shipments passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic maritime chokepoint linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.

Saudi Arabia has already increased crude exports through its Red Sea terminal at Yanbu following disruptions to Gulf shipping routes during the recent Iran conflict. Expanding exports via Egypt’s SUMED Pipeline provides an alternative route that reduces reliance on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait for reaching European and North American markets.

Data from commodity analytics firm Kpler indicate that crude loadings from Sidi Kerir averaged approximately 427,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) so far this year, down from around 735,000 bbl/d recorded in 2025. The exported volumes include, but are not limited to, Saudi crude.

The Houthis have recently threatened to target Saudi-linked commercial shipping in the Red Sea, raising concerns over the security of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key global oil transit route. The renewed tensions have prompted regional producers to increasingly utilize alternative export routes, including Egypt’s SUMED Pipeline, to ensure uninterrupted crude supplies.