Saudi Arabia Restarts East-West Pipeline to Resume Exports Days After Drone Attack

Saudi Arabia has restarted operations along its critical East-West Pipeline, paving the way to resume crude oil exports from the Red Sea port of Yanbu as early as Tuesday, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

The resumption of pipeline operations signaled a potential increase in Middle Eastern oil flows, triggering a sell-off in global energy markets.

Following the reports, Brent crude fell by more than $2 a barrel toward $97, reaching its lowest price since Sept. 8.

The kingdom was forced to shut down the line on Sept. 11 after drone attacks damaged infrastructure and halted crude loadings at Yanbu.

Saudi Arabia has blamed the strikes on Iraqi militia groups. Satellite imagery and industry sources revealed that three of the 11 pumping stations servicing the line were damaged in the attack.

The pipeline network also relies on two separate pressure relief stations critical for its daily operations.

With the military conflict involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran continuing to disrupt shipping lanes for Saudi Arabia and neighboring Gulf states, the East-West Pipeline serves as a crucial bypass around the Strait of Hormuz.

Riyadh has relied on the conduit to divert roughly 4 million barrels per day — representing about 4% of global oil supply — to western export terminals on the Red Sea.

According a report from two sources, initial pumping resumed at a low rate on Tuesday, with the state oil giant Saudi Aramco working to restore flow rates back to 4 million barrels per day, a drop from the total initial capacity of 7 million barrels per day.

Reaching 40% capacity is expected to take several days, while a security source and an oil industry source indicated that restoring full pumping operations could take anywhere from six to eight weeks.

In addition to exports, the line will resume supplying crude to Aramco refineries along the Red Sea coast, with one vessel scheduled to send deliveries to China already loaded at Yanbu late Tuesday.

Meanwhile, traders have begun shifting tankers toward Egyptian ports to prepare for ship-to-ship transfers, further signalling a return of Saudi crude supply to global markets.

The restarting of the pipeline confirms earlier reports by a U.S. official that the pipeline could resume operations in days.