Saudi, Oman Refineries Outside Hormuz Provide Key Supplies

6 Mar 2026 Issue: 69 / 10 By: Jamie Ingram

While most Middle East oil refining capacity is located inside the Strait of Hormuz and currently stranded, there is more than 2mn b/d capacity in Oman and on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast. Their output will now be in high demand.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is sending shockwaves through global refined products markets as Asian refineries face up to the loss of key crude feedstocks, and large Middle Eastern refined products are left stranded. Excluding sanctioned Iranian barrels, refining capacity in the Gulf states stands at around 8.5mn b/d out of global CDU capacity of around 102mn b/d, according to Opec’s 2025 World Oil Outlook (WOO).

Most of this capacity is located inside the Gulf and effectively stranded for as long as the Hormuz corridor is shut, but MEES calculates that around a quarter of the total (2.4mn b/d) is positioned outside the chokepoint. These facilities are not just vital sources of supply for global markets, but will be invaluable revenue sources for their host countries. These facilities are in Saudi Arabia and Oman. (CONTINUED - 675 WORDS)