US Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated on Monday that Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline, which was forced offline following an attack over the weekend, should return to service "very soon." In an interview, Wright noted, "I believe you will see this pipeline back in operation shortly. They have been carefully assessing the damage and the necessary next steps, and I think the situation will become much clearer shortly."
On September 11, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy announced that the pipeline's Riyadh and Medina sections had been struck multiple times on the morning of September 10, leading to the precautionary shutdown of the line. The East-West pipeline serves as a vital alternative route for Saudi oil exports, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. Built in the 1980s, this 1,200-kilometer pipeline runs from the oil-producing regions of the Persian Gulf in the east to the Red Sea port of Yanbu in the west. After the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted by regional conflicts earlier this year, Saudi Arabia quickly shifted to using this pipeline to export oil via the Red Sea.
According to reports, following the outbreak of the US-Israel-Iran conflict, the pipeline's average daily throughput surged from roughly 3 million barrels per day to 7 million barrels per day. Traders and industry sources indicate that if the disruption to the East-West pipeline persists for more than a few days, global oil supplies could lose as much as 4%. Storage at the Yanbu terminal is sufficient to sustain exports for only five to seven days, with limited additional reserves held in Egypt.
As fighting intensifies between Yemen's Houthi forces and Saudi-backed government troops, the Houthis are advancing toward Red Sea coastal areas near the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Several analysts report that the Houthis have made progress in their attempts to seize the port city of Mocha at the southern tip of the Red Sea, with some claiming the Yemeni port city has already been captured. The escalating tensions in the Red Sea are poised to deliver a fresh shock to global energy markets.
Ben Cahill, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center, highlighted that the Red Sea shipping lane has always been crucial, and over the past six months, a key safeguard for energy security was the ability to reroute around risk zones using Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline and another high-capacity backup line in the UAE. A prolonged closure of the East-West pipeline would present enormous challenges, as it is currently the most important conduit for bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. Cahill added that the various buffers that helped markets withstand recent shocks have largely been depleted. While releases from strategic petroleum reserves played a pivotal role, a drawdown of that scale cannot be repeated. If attacks persist and the Red Sea route faces sustained disruption, oil prices will climb further.
As of the time of writing, Brent crude futures are up nearly 4% to $108.76 per barrel, while WTI crude futures have advanced 3.69% to $103.74 per barrel. In the latest developments, Yemen's Houthi forces launched dozens of ballistic missiles and drones at King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia. According to a statement from Houthi spokesman Yahya Sarea, the strikes targeted fighter jet hangars, radar systems, runways, and ammunition depots at the base, describing the attacks as "precise and direct, inflicting heavy losses." Sarea said the operation was in retaliation for Saudi Arabia's intensified airstrikes on Yemen, noting that Saudi F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets have conducted over 300 air raids across multiple Yemeni provinces from bases in Khamis Mushait and Taif in recent times.