Saudi East-West Pipeline Resumes, Loading 12.5 Million Barrels After Sept. 11 Attack
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 29
Saudi East-West Pipeline Resumes, Loading 12.5 Million Barrels After Sept. 11 Attack
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 29
Summary
Nine tankers have loaded about 12.5 million barrels of crude from Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast since Sunday, signaling the East-West pipeline is back in operation.
Three of those cargoes were loaded in the past 24 hours, the clearest sign yet that the 750-mile pipeline is at least partly working again after Saudi Arabia shut it on Sept. 11.
Saudi authorities had blamed the outage on a drone attack by an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia; Kpler said the pipeline has resumed, while the energy ministry and Aramco declined comment.
The restart eases pressure on Saudi exports because the pipeline became the kingdom’s main route after the Strait of Hormuz was effectively shut seven months ago.
That workaround still carries risk, with Red Sea shipments relying on the Bab al-Mandab Strait—where the Iranian-backed Houthis hold sway—or the Suez Canal and an Egyptian pipeline.