Saudi Arabia Keeps Getting Hit by the Houthis. It Will Move Oil Elsewhere to Keep it Safer.

Saudi Arabia is planning to store some of its crude oil in Singapore to keep it safe during ongoing hostilities and chaos in the Middle East.

Reuters reported that Riyadh plans to store oil at Singapore's Jurong Rock Caverns in 2027 to strengthen supply security.

Saudi Arabia had used an east-west pipeline to send its oil to the Red Sea side of the nation. It then could ship oil through the Gulf of Aden. However, Houthi rebels based in Yemen and aligned with Iran have launched attacks on the pipeline and threatened to attack shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The Iran war has also caused numerous disruptions to the supply chain and has led to regular attacks on oil and gas infrastructure in the Middle East. Iran has attempted to block shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which up to 20 percent of the world's oil supply once sailed.

Amid this instability, Saudi Arabia announced its plans to store oil in the Jurong Rock Caverns.

"Saudi Arabia and Singapore are announcing our joint intent to establish an ⁠arrangement for Saudi crude oil to be stored at the Jurong Rock Caverns from the second half of ​2027," Tan See Leng, minister for energy, trade and industry, told the Singapore International Energy Week conference, according to Reuters.

"This arrangement enhances the ​resilience of the Saudi crude oil supply chain in Southeast Asia, as well as contributes to Singapore's energy security and resilience in the event of supply disruptions," Leng stated.

Saudi officials said that the move would allow them to improve the reliability and security of the oil supply in Southeast Asia.

"Bringing supply closer to key Asian markets would ​strengthen the flexibility of our supply network and support Singapore's security of supply and preparedness," Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin ‌Salman Al-Saud said in a video recording at the conference.

Singapore's Jurong Rock Caverns are located at a depth of 492 feet underground. It can store up to 9 million barrels of liquid hydrocarbons such as crude oil.