March 10, 2026 [S & P Global]- The 7 million b/d East-West pipeline connecting Saudi Arabia’s eastern and western coasts will hit full capacity “in the next couple of days,” Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said March 10 on the company’s third-quarter earnings call.

Aramco has been shifting crude flows to the Yanbu terminal on the Red Sea as exports from its west coast are largely shut in due to disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz amid the war in the Middle East.

Exports of Saudi oil from Yanbu surged to a record high in the week ended March 10, shipping data from S&P Global Commodities at Sea showed, as more crude flowed west.

Nasser also said that Aramco, the world’s largest crude exporter, is meeting “the majority” of its customers’ requirements by tapping its storage facilities in Asia, the Mediterranean and Northwest Europe.

But the company only has adequate inventories to maintain flows “provided [the war] does not persist in the long term,” he added.

“We have 12 million b/d of maximum sustained capacity. That gives us a lot of optionality in terms of where we concentrate our production,” Nasser said, detailing that Aramco is prioritizing Arab Light, as well as some Arab Extra Light, flows through the East-West pipeline to “meet targets.”

“Certain areas where we have medium and heavy [Arab crude grades], we’re not utilizing for the time being,” the CEO said.

Refinery operations

Aramco has not cut any refinery operations “with the exception of the attacks on our Ras Tanura refinery,” which is in the process of coming back into operation, Nasser said.

The CEO called the current war “the biggest crisis the region’s oil and gas industry has faced.”

Nearly 180 million barrels have been affected by disruptions so far, and only 10 days into the war, he said.

On March 9, around 1.6 million barrels of Saudi crude were loaded from the Gulf, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data.

“There will be catastrophic consequences for the world’s oil market the longer the disruption goes on,” the CEO said.

Loadings at key ports in the Gulf affected by the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz totaled 3 million barrels on March 8, compared to loadings as high as 19.9 million barrels in the weeks leading up to the conflict, CAS data showed.

“It is absolutely critical that shipping resumes in the Strait of Hormuz,” Nasser said.

Financials

Saudi Aramco reported net income of $93.4 billion for the full year of 2025, falling by 12% year over year due to lower revenues and other sales-related income, according to the company’s financial results reported to the Saudi stock exchange, Tadawul, on March 10.

Its net income dropped nearly 24% on a quarterly basis in Q4 2025 as a result of higher operating costs, the company said.

As for capital expenditure, the company spent $52.2 billion in 2025, in line with its guidance, and $1 billion lower year over year, it said.

Aramco reported a capital investment guidance of $50 billion-$55 billion for 2026.