Saudi East–West Pipeline Restarts at Low Rate After Attacks

Saudi Arabia restarted its East–West Pipeline on September 22, Reuters reported, citing three sources briefed on the matter. Two said the line was pumping at a low rate. As of September 23, the reporting reviewed had not confirmed its actual throughput or a completed export loading at the Red Sea port of Yanbu.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy said the pipeline was attacked in the Riyadh and Medina regions on September 10 and shut down as a precaution. Reuters’ updated report dates the shutdown to September 11; an earlier version gave September 13. The ministry’s statement does not specify a shutdown date.

Capacity and export role

Before the outage, Saudi Arabia was routing about 4 million barrels per day through the pipeline to Yanbu, according to Reuters. The line provides a route for oil exports that avoids the Strait of Hormuz. That previous flow is the relevant benchmark for assessing the restart; Reuters’ sources described the initial pumping rate only as low.

The pipeline’s stated maximum capacity is 7 million barrels per day. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that 5 million barrels per day of that capacity is available for exports, with the rest serving domestic use. Maximum capacity therefore cannot be treated as the volume available to load onto tankers.

The International Energy Agency said on September 18 that attacks on the pipeline had curtailed flows bypassing Hormuz. It reported that combined exports from Yanbu and the UAE’s Fujairah port fell from a June peak of 7.8 million barrels per day to 5.5 million in August. Those figures measure exports from both ports, not pipeline throughput.

What renewed pumping can deliver

Restored pumping can begin replenishing supplies to Saudi Red Sea refineries. Exports through Yanbu depend on sufficient oil reaching the port and tankers loading it. One Reuters source said a cargo bound for China was scheduled to load on September 22; the report did not establish that the loading occurred.

The restart reduces the risk of a prolonged loss of the bypass route. Its effect on exports depends on how much flow is sustained and how much reaches tankers rather than domestic facilities. Reuters reported no confirmation that the roughly 4 million barrels per day previously routed through the line had been restored.

Interrupted pipeline flow also cannot be counted barrel for barrel as lost global supply. Alternative Gulf loadings and inventories can partly offset an outage. The amount of that offset, and the additional exports the restart may enable, remain unconfirmed in the reporting reviewed.

Recovery and market response

Reuters’ sources gave differing estimates for recovery. One projected that pumping could reach 40% of the line’s 7-million-barrel-per-day capacity within a couple of days and full capacity in six to eight weeks. Another estimated up to six weeks to regain full pumping rates. These were projections, not verified repair milestones.

Reuters reported that Brent fell by more than $2 a barrel toward $97 on September 22 as news of the restart emerged. It also identified expectations of increased exports through Hormuz and a possible reopening of the strait as influences that week. The reported price move cannot be attributed solely to the pipeline.

Saudi Aramco had not responded to Reuters’ request for comment. The extent of completed repairs, the September 23 pumping rate and any completed Yanbu loading remained unconfirmed in the sources reviewed. Saudi Arabia blamed Iraqi militia for the attacks, according to Reuters; the cited ministry statement confirmed the attacks without identifying those responsible.