3 April 2026

The Saudis found an escape hatch for some of the world’s oil. The Houthis could slam it shut

Anna Cooban

The world, hungry for oil, got a modest reprieve earlier this month when Saudi Arabia began diverting millions of barrels of crude —ordinarily destined for ships transiting the blockaded Strait of Hormuz — to its Red Sea port of Yanbu. But over the weekend Iran-backed Houthi militants entered the war in an escalation that threatens to sever even that lifeline.

Anything that jeopardizes Saudi oil flows out of the Red Sea will put more upward pressure on global oil prices, said Richard Bronze, co-founder and head of geopolitics at research firm Energy Aspects. As many as 4.6 million barrels per day were loaded onto vessels at Yanbu over the past two weeks — more than three times the average over 2025, according to shipping data firm Vortexa.

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