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31 min ago 2 min read
Yemen’s Houthis are threatening a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia, escalating tensions in the Middle East.
As gasworld reported , the Bab el-Mandeb strait is another regional chokepoint, and any blockade would prevent Saudi traffic entering or exiting the lower Red Sea. Saudi Arabia has not issued a formal response.
It would add another stress point to the beleaguered shipping sector, already reeling from high insurance costs and disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.
The region has presented challenges before, with warnings to helium supply from Houthi attacks .
Saudi Arabia is actively pumping and exporting massive amounts of energy westward through its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea ports of Yanbu and Jeddah.
Any disruption southbound would add more logistical challenges to ships sailing north through the Suez Canal to Europe.
Last week Iran stepped up attacks across the Middle East and targeted .
LNG production and vessel loadings at QatarEnergy LNG and the UAE’s Adnoc LNG have continued at a relatively robust pace despite the disruption to outbound shipping, according to S&P Global research.
However Mehrun Etebari, Senior Principal Analyst at S&P Global Energy, said LNG traffic through the strait has fallen back to levels last seen in early June, well before the created a temporary window for renewed movement.
