Saudi Aramco is considering building major storage facilities around the world, in addition to those it currently owns, according to Yasser Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Public Investment Fund and chairman of the board of the world's largest energy company.
Al-Rumayyan stated during the Priority-Europe 2026 Summit in Rome, Italy, organized by the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Foundation, that the long-term planning that led Aramco to establish the East-West pipeline in the 1980s, in addition to strategic reserves in countries such as China and the United States, saved the world from a very bad situation, even worse than the one we reached with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the Iran war.
He added: Aramco has storage facilities around the world, especially in Asia, South Korea and Japan, and we are seriously considering expanding our storage capacities by building larger facilities in various global markets.
Aramco boosts overseas oil storage to reduce
The Aramco chief's remarks reflect a clear trend among Gulf oil-exporting states to reduce reliance on the Strait of Hormuz during crises to secure energy supplies for importers, after the conflict disrupted shipping for more than three months.
It is worth noting that Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea on Sunday covering oil, gas, refining and petrochemicals, with a focus on expanding the storage of Saudi crude within South Korea’s strategic petroleum reserve.
The storage clause provides dual benefits to both parties; Saudi Arabia enhances the presence of its crude near Asian demand centers, reducing delivery time and supporting the reliability of supplies, while South Korea – the world’s fifth-largest oil buyer, with Saudi Arabia as its top supplier – gains faster access to supplies in emergencies.
