UPSC Prelims 2024 Q88: SUMED Pipeline and Gulf Oil Routes — Explained

Consider the following statements:

Statement-I:

Sumed pipeline is a strategic route for Persian Gulf oil and natural gas shipments to Europe.

Statement-II:

Sumed pipeline connects the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  2. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  3. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  4. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Answer: (a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I

Statement-wise explanation

  • Statement-I: correct — The SUMED (Suez-Mediterranean) pipeline was built to carry Persian Gulf crude to markets west of Suez, mainly Europe. It is operated by the Arab Petroleum Pipelines Company, owned by Egypt's EGPC (50%) with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar as partners. Its capacity is about 2.5 million barrels per day. Many fully loaded supertankers sit too deep in the water to pass through the Suez Canal. They pump part or all of their cargo into SUMED at Ain Sukhna and pick it up again at Sidi Kerir. This gives Gulf oil a second route to Europe besides the canal. The question's wording also includes natural gas shipments, and the official key accepts the statement as correct.
  • Statement-II: correct — The pipeline runs about 320 km from Ain Sukhna on the Gulf of Suez, an arm of the Red Sea, to Sidi Kerir on the Mediterranean coast west of Alexandria. It opened in 1977. It does explain Statement-I. Gulf oil comes into the Red Sea through Bab-el-Mandeb, and Europe is reached across the Mediterranean. A link between these two seas is exactly what makes SUMED a Gulf-to-Europe route that bypasses the canal.

How to eliminate

Start with Statement-II, which you can work out from the name. SUMED stands for Suez-Mediterranean, so it must run from the Suez/Red Sea side of Egypt to the Mediterranean. That rules out the option where Statement-II is wrong. Next, ask why anyone would pipe oil from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. Gulf oil reaches the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean is Europe's sea. So the pipeline is a Gulf-to-Europe route, and that rules out the option where Statement-I is wrong. The last step is choosing between 'explains' and 'does not explain'. Ask whether Statement-II gives the reason for Statement-I. It does, because the route is strategic precisely because it links these two seas. The one fact to remember is SUMED = Ain Sukhna (Red Sea) to Sidi Kerir (Mediterranean), a bypass for the Suez Canal.

Know more

How Gulf oil reaches Europe

Gulf oil can take three routes to Europe:

Route Path Key constraint
Suez Canal Hormuz → Arabian Sea → Bab-el-Mandeb → Red Sea → Suez Canal → Mediterranean Canal depth limits fully loaded supertankers
SUMED pipeline Tanker to Ain Sukhna → pipeline (~320 km) → Sidi Kerir → tanker to Europe Capacity about 2.5 million barrels/day
Cape of Good Hope Around southern Africa into the Atlantic Several thousand nautical miles and 1–2 weeks longer

What SUMED does

  • It opened in 1977. The Suez Canal was closed from 1967 to 1975, and supertankers were getting too big for the canal. The pipeline answered both problems.
  • Two parallel lines carry the oil. The operator is the Arab Petroleum Pipelines Company, a joint venture of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar.
  • A very large crude carrier can unload part of its cargo at Ain Sukhna. The lighter ship then passes through the canal and reloads at Sidi Kerir. A ship can also unload its whole cargo and send it by pipeline.

Bypass pipelines to know

  • East-West Pipeline (Petroline), Saudi Arabia: runs from Abqaiq to Yanbu on the Red Sea and avoids the Strait of Hormuz.
  • Habshan-Fujairah pipeline, UAE: reaches the Gulf of Oman and also avoids Hormuz.
  • SUMED, Egypt: avoids the Suez Canal.

Saudi crude can go East-West to Yanbu, then by tanker up the Red Sea to SUMED, then to Europe. That chain avoids both Hormuz and the canal.

Chokepoints on the route

The main chokepoints are the Strait of Hormuz, Bab-el-Mandeb and the Suez Canal. A threat at any of them makes bypass pipelines more valuable. This happened during the Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping that began in late 2023.

In the news

Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea began in November 2023. They pushed many carriers to sail around the Cape of Good Hope, and Suez Canal trade volumes fell by about half year-on-year in early 2024 (IMF, March 2024). Pipeline routes that bypass the canal and its chokepoints came into the news just before the 2024 Prelims.

NCERT Concepts to Revise

  • Red Sea: One end of the pipeline lies on the Red Sea side of Egypt; Statement-II depends on this sea.
  • Suez Canal: SUMED is built as a bypass for the Suez Canal, so knowing the canal's limits explains why the pipeline exists.
  • Bab-el-Mandeb: Gulf tankers enter the Red Sea through Bab-el-Mandeb before reaching the pipeline's southern terminal.
  • Maritime chokepoint: Strategic routes are judged by how they avoid or depend on narrow chokepoints like Hormuz, Bab-el-Mandeb and Suez.
  • Mediterranean-Indian Ocean sea route: This is the main Gulf-to-Europe sea lane that the pipeline sits on and supplements.
  • Cape of Good Hope sea route: The long alternative route that ships take when the Red Sea-Suez corridor is unsafe or blocked.

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