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Saudi Airports to Expand Global Reach at Routes World 2024 in Bahrain

Saudi airports will participate under the theme "Saudi Arabia the Global Hub" at Routes World 2024 in Bahrain. (SPA)
Saudi airports will participate under the theme "Saudi Arabia the Global Hub" at Routes World 2024 in Bahrain. (SPA)
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Saudi Airports to Expand Global Reach at Routes World 2024 in Bahrain

Saudi airports will participate under the theme "Saudi Arabia the Global Hub" at Routes World 2024 in Bahrain. (SPA)
Saudi airports will participate under the theme "Saudi Arabia the Global Hub" at Routes World 2024 in Bahrain. (SPA)

Saudi airports will participate under the theme "Saudi Arabia the Global Hub" at Routes World 2024, which will take place in Bahrain from October 6-8, 2024, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday.
The event, considered the aviation industry's premier global gathering, will bring together key players from airlines, airports, and industry stakeholders worldwide to shape the future of air services and promote global economic growth.
The Saudi participation includes some of the kingdom's most important aviation assets: MATARAT Holding, the King Salman International Airport, the Saudi Air Connectivity Program, the Red Sea International Airport, the Riyadh Airports Company, the Jeddah Airports Company, the Dammam Airports Company, and the Airports Cluster 2 Company.
Saudi Arabia's participation aims to transform its aviation sector into a global leader, positioning its airports to handle 330 million passengers and transport 4.5 million tons of cargo by 2030. This ambitious goal, aligned with the objectives of the National Aviation Strategy, is a testament to the industry's potential.
The effort also focuses on creating seamless travel experiences, enhancing customer satisfaction, ensuring safety and promoting environmental sustainability in the aviation industry.
The 29th edition of Routes World will feature panel discussions, workshops, and intensive meetings focused on advancing the regional and global air transport industry.
The sessions will also explore airlines' financial and operational performance, prospects for future growth, and critical issues such as privatization, mergers, sustainability initiatives, and environmental conservation.

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Business

Saudi Arabia Deploys Oil ‘Central Bank’ Capacity to Cushion Hormuz Shock

Yanbu Industrial Port (SPA)
Yanbu Industrial Port (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Deploys Oil ‘Central Bank’ Capacity to Cushion Hormuz Shock

Yanbu Industrial Port (SPA)
Yanbu Industrial Port (SPA)

Saudi Arabia has emerged as a key stabilizing force in global energy markets during the crisis triggered by the US-Israeli-Iranian war that disrupted the Strait of Hormuz, helping contain what experts describe as an unprecedented supply shock.

While pessimistic forecasts had pointed to oil prices surging toward $200 per barrel, Saudi action helped cap prices at around $112, drawing on extensive infrastructure and flexible logistics that reinforced its reputation as the world’s “central bank of oil.”

Experts told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Kingdom’s strategic East-West pipeline, known as Petroline, proved decisive in mitigating the crisis.

Fadl bin Saad al-Buainain, a member of Saudi Arabia’s Shura Council and an economic adviser, said Riyadh has cemented its role as a global oil stabilizer through active management and policies aimed at balancing markets and ensuring supply continuity.

He stressed that this role was evident during the Hormuz crisis, as Saudi Arabia rerouted exports from the Gulf to the Red Sea via Petroline, pumping about 7 million barrels per day to the port of Yanbu, with part directed to domestic refineries and most exported abroad.

Alternative routes and market confidence

Al-Buainain said Saudi Aramco’s ability to rely on secure export alternatives enabled the Kingdom to navigate the crisis and reassure markets.

He noted that this reliability reflects long-term investments in production, transport and overseas storage, which act as a buffer against disruptions. Aramco also plays a central role in contingency planning to address geopolitical risks, he added.

The disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supply passes, posed a major shock to the global economy and threatened maritime security. However, Saudi alternatives helped ease the impact, including the use of global reserves to offset supply shortfalls.

Al-Buainain said Saudi Arabia’s commitment to its customers, including its decision not to declare force majeure, was key to preventing prices from rising above $150.

He warned that the crisis could worsen if no solution is found to secure navigation in the strait, given its importance to critical sectors such as agriculture and petrochemicals.

Red Sea as strategic outlet

Abdulrahman Baashen, head of the Shurooq Center for Economic Studies, said Saudi Arabia successfully leveraged its “flexible geography” by activating alternative export routes managed by Saudi Aramco, boosting global market confidence despite regional tensions.

He added that the Red Sea provided a strategic alternative to Hormuz, allowing Aramco to maintain steady flows and meet its commitments under difficult conditions.

Baashen said continued Saudi exports via the Red Sea played a crucial role in limiting price increases. Although prices rose to $112 per barrel, the strategy helped avert a worst-case scenario of a surge to $200.

Rapid response and operational flexibility

Economist Ibrahim Alomar, head of Sharah for Researches and Economic Studies, said Saudi Arabia demonstrated exceptional reliability as a major energy producer.

He pointed to a sharp rise in flows through the East-West pipeline, from an average of 770,000 barrels per day in January and February to about 2.9 million barrels, and then to more than 5 million barrels per day within weeks.

“This reflects rare operational flexibility that only a country acting as the world’s oil central bank can provide,” he stated.

Saudi preparedness helped preserve about 85 percent of its exports, making the pipeline a key safeguard against severe supply shocks, Alomar added.

He warned that a 20 percent disruption in global supply through Hormuz could have pushed prices to between $230 and $300 per barrel, triggering a severe global economic shock.

International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol has credited Saudi Arabia’s rapid response and the redirection of roughly two-thirds of its exports with preventing the situation from spiraling out of control.

Alomar described Saudi Arabia as the “engine of the Gulf economy,” citing its production capacity, infrastructure located away from conflict zones, and logistical support in supplying essential goods across the region via sea, air and land.

Business

South Korea Says Close to Securing Oil Supplies from Kazakhstan

People walk by blooming cherry blossoms in Seoul, South Korea, April 2, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
People walk by blooming cherry blossoms in Seoul, South Korea, April 2, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
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South Korea Says Close to Securing Oil Supplies from Kazakhstan

People walk by blooming cherry blossoms in Seoul, South Korea, April 2, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
People walk by blooming cherry blossoms in Seoul, South Korea, April 2, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

South Korea is close to securing crude oil supplies from Kazakhstan, the industry minister said on Sunday, as the country looks for alternative energy sources amid the war in the Middle East.

"There has been quite (some) progress, so we should be able to announce specific ⁠amounts and details ⁠early next week," Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said in an interview with local broadcaster KBS, according to Reuters.

Earlier this month, presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik travelled with Kim to ⁠Kazakhstan to secure supplies of crude oil and naphtha amid disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

"Kazakhstan might sound very far, but it actually takes about the same time with shipments from the US About 50 to 60 days," Kim said, adding that the recent visit to the ⁠central Asian ⁠country was aimed at diversifying oil supplies in the long run.

South Korea, which is almost entirely dependent on imports for its energy with 70% of oil purchases coming from the Middle East, also secured a pledge last month from the United Arab Emirates to supply 24 million barrels of crude oil.

Business

From Boston to Denver, US Drivers Cut Back as Iran War Pushes Fuel Costs Higher

A nozzle pumps diesel into the fuel tank of bus in Orange, Calif., Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP)
A nozzle pumps diesel into the fuel tank of bus in Orange, Calif., Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP)
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From Boston to Denver, US Drivers Cut Back as Iran War Pushes Fuel Costs Higher

A nozzle pumps diesel into the fuel tank of bus in Orange, Calif., Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP)
A nozzle pumps diesel into the fuel tank of bus in Orange, Calif., Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP)

Boston resident Pat Ouedraogo has cut longer-distance trips, while aspiring law student Skyler Burke drives extra miles to avoid pricier gasoline pumps closer to home. In Houston, auto broker David Wright has switched from a gas-guzzling race car to an all-electric vehicle.

These struggles are being echoed by motorists across the United States, many of whom have grown increasingly wary of the Iran war as it drives fuel prices toward record highs.

Energy market experts have described the six-week-old war as the worst oil-supply disruption ever as major production facilities have been hit and a key shipping passage has effectively closed.

"It's a situation where you feel powerless about these prices," Ouedraogo said, while pumping a few gallons of gasoline into his Nissan SUV at a Shell station that was charging $4.99 a gallon.

Average US gasoline prices stood at $4.16 a gallon on Friday, while diesel averaged $5.67, the most that consumers have paid at the pumps ahead of the peak summer travel season since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine roiled global energy markets, data from GasBuddy showed.

Those prices translate into an estimated $10.4 ‌billion increase in US gasoline ‌and diesel spending this year compared with the same March 1-April 10 period last year, since ‌the ⁠war began, GasBuddy's Patrick ⁠De Haan said.

For Houston-based trucker Eddie Esquivel, the surge in diesel prices has translated into a near-doubling of his weekly expenditures to $1,600-$1,700 from $800-$900 before the war.

"These prices are hitting real hard. Diesel was $2-something a gallon. Now, it could hit $6," Esquivel said at a QuikTrip filling station in South Houston, Texas.

"You got truck payments, you got to buy tires, you got to do oil changes, and you got a family," Esquivel said. "This is killing us."

POLITICAL FALLOUT FROM PUMP PRICES

To be sure, consumers are paying dearly for fuel across the world, as Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has starved Asian and European markets of Middle Eastern oil supplies.

The United States is the world's largest fuel consumer, so pump prices hold a unique significance in American politics.

The searing economic ⁠pain felt by motorists due to the persistence of Russia's war in Ukraine had been a ‌major influence in their decision to elect Donald Trump as president in November 2024.

Now, just ‌months ahead of midterm US elections in November, Americans' approval of Trump has crashed to new lows as they square his campaign promises of lower energy costs ‌against the sharpest increase in consumer prices in nearly four years in March due to the record surge in fuel prices.

"I definitely won't ‌be voting for (the Republican) party or anyone affiliated with this president right now who is in office at all," Kari DyLong said while filling up her pickup truck at a service station outside of Denver.

To make matters worse, the elevated gasoline prices are expected to linger even after Trump eventually decides to end US military involvement in Iran, according to the US government's own admission.

Delegations from the United States and Iran are set to hold talks in Pakistan on Saturday aimed ‌at reaching a permanent ceasefire deal after a fragile two-week truce announced earlier this week.

However, even if such a deal is struck, oil and fuel prices are unlikely to return to their pre-war levels ⁠in quick order, analysts said earlier this ⁠week. US consumers will continue to pay the highest prices in years to fill up their vehicles or fly over the summer, they said.

"We still expect a lingering geopolitical risk premium to remain in the market," said Wei Ren Gan, analyst at consultancy Rystad.

"Rather than a rapid recovery to pre-war levels, prices are likely to soften gradually and could remain relatively higher than pre-war benchmarks."

About 2 million barrels per day of Middle Eastern refining capacity has been knocked out of service due to damage in the ongoing war, according to Macquarie analysts.

DEMAND DESTRUCTION

Signs of demand destruction due to the high gas prices have begun to show in US government data. Gasoline demand in the country in the week before Easter stood at just 8.6 million barrels a day, down 9% from last year's Easter demand.

Other indicators show the extent of hardships consumers are facing: pawn loan transactions have surged 9% as gas prices surpassed $4 a gallon, said Tim Jugmans, financial chief at pawn loan provider EZCORP.

For Denver resident DyLong, the cratering of demand has come in the form of cutting back on personal excursions over the weekends. She faces a 40-minute commute to get to her job as a sales manager for craft brewer Oskar Blues.

"I'm doing things way more at home and not venturing out because I'm having to spend a bigger portion of my paycheck now towards gas to get me to work," she said.