Saudi Arabia Reopens Key Oil Pipeline Amid Global Supply Concerns
Saudi Arabia's East, West oil pipeline has resumed operations after being halted due to drone attacks earlier this month. The pipeline transports crude oil from the kingdom's eastern region to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
The pipeline is currently operating at low capacity, with Saudi Aramco aiming to gradually restore throughput to about 4 million barrels per day. This may take several more weeks, according to reports.
Before the shutdown, the pipeline transported around 4 million barrels of oil per day across the kingdom to the Red Sea. The full restoration of the route's supplies to Yanbu is expected to alleviate some pressure on the global oil market, which saw Brent temporarily fall by more than $2 per barrel to about $98 due to concerns over supply disruptions.
The pipeline shutdown also disrupted supplies that normally moved from Yanbu through Egypt's SUMED system to the Mediterranean Sea. Traders are already moving tankers to Egypt's Port Said and Sidi Kerir for ship-to-ship oil transfers as Saudi flows resume.