Saudi Arabia Restores East-West Pipeline to 5.8 Million Barrels Per Day
Saudi Arabia has successfully restored oil flows through its East-West Pipeline to 5.8 million barrels per day (mmbbl/d), according to Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. This development highlights the kingdom's efforts to rebuild an alternative export route following disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. As of October 6, the pipeline, which connects eastern production areas to the Red Sea export hub of Yanbu, has been operating without interruption.
The current flow level represents over 80% of the pipeline’s expanded capacity of 7 mmbbl/d. This comes less than a month after drone attacks forced Saudi Arabia to shut down the system and halt crude loadings at Yanbu. The pipeline initially restarted on September 22 at a low rate before being gradually ramped up to nearly 6 mmbbl/d by early October, with about 4.5 mmbbl/d available for exports after accounting for crude supplied to refineries on the western coast.
The recovery of the East-West Pipeline is significant as it provides Saudi Arabia with an overland route to the Red Sea, allowing it to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil transit chokepoint. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) notes that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the only Gulf countries with operational crude oil pipelines capable of bypassing the Strait. The East-West Pipeline's original design capacity was 5 mmbbl/d, which was expanded to 7 mmbbl/d in 2019.