Saudi Arabia is a key oil supplier to the United States, Europe and Asia. In 2005, Saudi Arabia exported an estimated 8.6 million bbl/d of petroleum liquids, of which 7.2 million bbl/d were crude, 553,000 wererefined product and 793,000 bbl/d NGLs. According to press reports, in 2006, Saudi had a marginal increase in exports based on long-term contracts to export just under 7 million bbl/d of crude worldwide. Asia, including Japan, South Korea, China and India, now receives an estimated 50 percent of Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports, as well as the majority of its refined petroleum product and NLG exports. Japan remains the single largest importer of Saudi crude in Asia. In 2005, According to the IEA, Japan imported an estimated 1.5 million bbl/d on average.

According to industry sources, South Korea’s imports from Saudi decreased from 835,000 bbl/d in 2005 to between 600,000 and 700,000 bbl/d in 2006. China’s imports continue to fluctuate the most widely. In 1995, Saudi Arabia was the 25th largest supplier of crude oil to China; while in 2007, Saudi may be China’s largest supplier (competing with Iran, Oman and Angola). According to industry reports, China will purchase an additional 44,000 bbl/d in 2007, raising imports to around510,000 on average.

Between January and October 2006, Saudi Arabia exported an average of 1.41 million bbl/d of crude oil to the United States, accounting for 14 percent of U.S. crude oil imports. For this time period, Saudi Arabia ranked third (after Canada, Mexico,) as a source of oil imports to the U.S. In 2005, Saudi surpassed Venezuela as the third largest U.S. supplier of petroleum products. The Saudi Share of imports during this time period was 13.9 percent (compared to 14.4 percent in the same time period in 2005).

Saudi Arabia's primary oil export terminals are located at

These, and a dozen other smaller terminals throughout the country, appear capable of exporting a 14-15 million bbl/d of crude and refined products, around 3.0-3.5 million bbl/d higher than Saudi current crude oil production capacity.

Saudi Aramco operates more than 9000 miles of petroleum pipelines throughout the county, including two major petroleum pipelines. The 745-mile, 5-million-bbl/d East-West Crude Oil Pipeline (Petroline), has been operated by Aramco since 1984 (when it took over from Mobil),and is used mainly to transport Arabian Light and Super Light from Abqaiq refineries in the Eastern Province and to Red Sea terminals (Yanbu) for export to European markets. Reportedly, the Saudis expanded the Petroline in part to maintain Yanbu as a strategic option to Gulf port facilities in the event that exports were blocked from passing through the Straits of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. The Petroline is utilized at less than half capacity, as shipments from Yanbu add up to five days roundtrip travel time for tankers through the Bab al-Mandab strait to major customers in Asia. Also built in the 1980s was a 236-mile multi-products between Dhahran in the Eastern Province and Riyadh and a 220-mile smaller multi- product line between Riyadh and Qassim to the north.

Running parallel to the Petroline is the 290,000-bbl/d Abqaiq-Yanbu natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline, which serves Yanbu's petrochemical plants. A $500 million contract to install three NGL pipeline loop line on the Shedgum-Yanbu section of the trunk line, when completed in 2008, will increase capacity to 555,000 b/d (SHY-1 expansion). There are also six smaller pipelines that make up the Uthmaniya-Abqaiq pipeline complex.

To support increased export capacity, Aramco has announced the construction of more than a total of more than 830 miles of new oil, natural gas and NGL pipelines of varying sizes and lengths by 2009. The biggest development will extend to the 1.2 million-b/d Khurais redevelopment, which will require a 400 to 500-mile network in the Eastern Province. The Manifa development has a planned installation of 221 miles of pipeline (gas and crude/condensate).

Saudi Aramco does not operate any major functioning international pipelines. The Trans-Arabian Pipeline (Tapline) from Qaisumah to Sidon, Lebanon, completed in 1974, has been mothballed, in part, since 1984 (the portion to Jordan was closed in 1990, through this has been talk of reopening this portion). Also, a 1.65-million-bbl/d, 48-inch Iraqi Pipeline across Saudi Arabia (IPSA), which runs parallel to the Petroline from pump station #3 (there are 11 pumping stations along the Petroline) to the port of Mu'ajjiz, just south of Yanbu, was built in 1989, but closed indefinitely following the August 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. In June 2001, Saudi Arabia seized ownership of IPSA. Theoretically, IPSA could be used for Saudi oil transport to the Red Sea, although the Saudis have reported that the pipeline has been converted to carry gas as part of the Master Gas System.

The only functioning international crude carrier is a 60-year old complex of four small submarine pipelines carrying Arabian Light crude from the Abu Saafra and Dammam fields to Bahrain. The pipelines range from 207,000 to 250,000 bbl/d capacity. Reportedly, this aging pipeline will be decommissioned after the construction of the “New Arabia” pipeline, a 71-mile, 350,000-450,000-bbl/d capacity feed running between Abqaiq and Bahrain’s refinery at Sitra. The pipeline will be built by local contractors, and is expected to come online in 2008. Despite excess pipeline capacity, reportedly the Saudis are planning to conduct a feasibility study on construction of an oil pipeline from the Empty Quarter of southeastern Saudi Arabia through the Hadramaut in Yemen and the Arabian Sea, although details of the proposed project were unavailable.

Aramco's shipping subsidiary Vela International Marine has one of the largest fleets of supertankers in the world, including an estimated 20 VLCCs (very large crude carriers) and several ULCCs (ultra-large crude carriers). Vela also has nearly two-dozen refined products and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LGP) carriers. Vela’s fleet carries a significant proportion of Saudi oil exports. Industry sources report that Vela is expected to commission six additional VLCCs (from South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co ) in 1Q 2007. Delivery of four VLCCs will be in 2008, and the final two ships will be delivered in 2009. The VLCC is designed to transport between 200,000 - 320,000 dead weight tonnage (dwt) or up to two million barrels of crude oil. Generally a ULCC tanker can carry over 320,000 dwt, or up to three million barrels of crude oil.

The National Shipping Co of Saudi Arabia (NSCSA) recently commissioned six VLCCs from Hyundai in early 2006. The deal, costing a reported $480 million has been partly financed by the Saudi government. NSCSA’s fleet has a total of nine VLCC's, totaling, with two vessels to be delivered in 2007. According to industry sources, NSCSA, through its subsidiaries, National Chemical Carriers and Arabian Chemical Carriers, the company owns 14 chemical tankers, plus an extra four container vessels for a total of 27 vessels. NSCSA is a public company, although the Public Investment Fund of the Saudi government holds 28 percent, while the remaining 72 percent is publicly traded.

In addition to tankers, Aramco owns or leases oil storage facilities around the world, in places like Rotterdam, Sidi Kerir (the Sumed pipeline terminal on Egypt's Mediterranean coast), South Korea, the Philippines, the Caribbean, and the United States.