Saudi Arabia has “begun to work” on an oil pipeline to Duqm, Oman, that could give its crude a direct outlet to the Arabian Sea without passing through the Strait of Hormuz, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné said, according to Arabian Gulf Business Insight (AGBI).
Pouyanné made the remarks on 28 September during TotalEnergies’ Investor Day in New York. AGBI reported them on 1 October. Saudi Aramco declined to comment.
The project is understood to remain at the feasibility-study stage. Rystad Energy, a Norway-based energy research and consultancy firm cited by AGBI, estimates the pipeline could run for around 1,000 km and cost up to $7 billion.
A direct outlet to the Arabian Sea
Ras Markaz, near Duqm, is among the possible destinations under consideration, according to Rystad Energy. The terminal lies on Oman’s Arabian Sea coast, south of the Strait of Hormuz.
A pipeline from eastern Saudi Arabia to this part of Oman would allow Saudi crude, particularly barrels bound for Asian markets, to reach the Arabian Sea without crossing Hormuz.
It would also avoid Bab el-Mandeb, which tankers must pass after loading Saudi crude at Yanbu on the Red Sea.
The pipeline’s exact starting point, capacity, route and construction timetable have not been disclosed.
Pouyanné had already called for new bypass routes
Pouyanné has been arguing for months that Gulf producers need more pipelines that do not rely on Hormuz.
In June, he said the Strait posed a “genuine threat” and added that “we must invest in pipelines to bypass the strait, that is an absolute priority.” He cited alternative routes through Abu Dhabi, Iraq, Syria and other parts of the region.
TotalEnergies has since said it intends to invest in an expansion of the oil route to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates and in a planned route linking Iraq to the Mediterranean through Syria.
No role for TotalEnergies has been announced in the proposed Saudi-Omani pipeline.
Aramco studies additional export routes
Pouyanné’s remarks came only days after Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said the company was carrying out engineering and feasibility work on a fourth and a fifth oil export route, without disclosing where they would run.
Saudi Arabia already operates the East-West pipeline, which carries crude across the kingdom to the Red Sea port of Yanbu and has capacity of around 7 million barrels per day. The line was temporarily disrupted in September following drone strikes before exports resumed.
A pipeline to Oman would add an Arabian Sea outlet to Saudi Arabia’s existing export network, but no final investment decision has yet been announced.