| Sumed Pipeline | |
| Type: | Oil |
| Map: | Sumed pipeline.png |
| Country: | Egypt |
| Operator: | Arab Petroleum Pipeline Company (Sumed Company) |
| Partners: | EGPC, Saudi Aramco, IPIC, three Kuwaiti companies, QatarEnergy |
| Length Km: | 320 |
| Direction: | South–north |
| Start: | Ain Sokhna terminal |
| Finish: | Sidi Kerir port |
| Est: | 1977 |
| Par: | Suez Canal |
The Sumed Pipeline (also known as the Suez-Mediterranean Pipeline) is an oil pipeline in Egypt, running from the Ain Sokhna terminal in the Gulf of Suez, the northernmost terminus of the Red Sea, to offshore Sidi Kerir port, Alexandria[1] in the Mediterranean Sea. It provides an alternative to the Suez Canal for transporting oil from the Persian Gulf region to the Mediterranean.
The project for an oil pipeline from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean commenced after the extended closure of the Suez Canal following the Six-Day War in June 1967.[2] Establishment of the pipeline company was agreed in 1973 between five Arab governments.[3] The Sumed pipeline was opened in 1977.[4]
The Sumed pipeline is 320km (200miles) long. It consists of two parallel lines of 42inches diameter. Its capacity is .[5] In 2009 it carried .[6]
The pipeline is owned by the Arab Petroleum Pipeline Company/Sumed Company, a joint venture of EGPC (50%, Egypt), Saudi Aramco (15%, Saudi Arabia), IPIC (15%, the United Arab Emirates), three Kuwaiti companies (each of 5%), and QatarEnergy (5%, Qatar).
An extension of the Sumed is being considered. The proposed extension would traverse the Red Sea from Ain Sukhna to the Saudi coast near Sharm al Sheikh, and from there to the terminal of Saudi Arabia's main east-west pipeline in Yanbu.
. Benjamin Shwadran . The Middle East, Oil, and the Great Powers . Israel Universities Press . 1973 . 487 . 978-0-470-79000-7.