Saudi Arabia is exploring alternative routes for exporting its oil after the strategic chokepoints of the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait have become increasingly unstable. The Strait of Hormuz, a vital passage for global oil trade, is currently under threat due to Iranian tensions, while the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, near Yemen, has been taken over by the Houthi movement. These disruptions have forced Riyadh to reconsider its traditional shipping routes, which previously relied heavily on these two straits. Before the current conflicts, more than 20 million barrels of oil passed through these areas daily, with around 7 million coming from Saudi Arabia. Until recently, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait served as a key alternative route, allowing oil to be rerouted through the East-West pipeline to the Red Sea, bypassing Hormuz. However, with the Houthi takeover, this route is no longer viable without significant risk. As a result, oil tankers must now travel north through the Red Sea toward the Suez Canal. However, the largest oil tankers, known as very large crude carriers (VLCCs), are too large to pass through the Suez Canal when fully loaded. A possible solution lies in the Egyptian Sumed pipeline, which runs across the desert from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. Tankers could offload part of their cargo at Ain Soukhna on the Red Sea and then reload in Alexandria, enabling them to continue their journey. These developments suggest that Saudi Arabia is considering a long-term shift in its export strategy, potentially focusing more on the Mediterranean. Several long-frozen projects could be revived, including a pipeline connecting northern Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, or a proposed pipeline from Saudi Arabia to the Syrian coast. There is also an Israeli proposal to build a 700-kilometer pipeline linking Saudi Arabia to the Israeli port of Eilat, with oil then transported through Israel to the Mediterranean port of Ashkelon. However, this plan depends on improving relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which currently lack formal diplomatic ties. While these alternatives offer new routes, they come with significant challenges. The projects require massive investment and could take years to complete. Moreover, they would greatly increase the distance to Asia, the primary market for Saudi oil. A journey that once took around 6,000 kilometers via Hormuz would stretch to over 24,000 kilometers, adding nearly a month to transit time and significantly increasing costs. For instance, the cost of shipping oil from the Gulf to China's Ningbo port has surged from about $4.5 million to nearly $63 million. For now, Saudi Arabia appears to be pursuing multiple strategies, including limited exports through the Strait of Hormuz and using night-time shuttles to transfer oil to Asian tankers off the coast of Oman.