Saudi Arabia Restores Half Capacity to Key Oil Pipeline After Drone Attack
Saudi Arabia is making progress in repairing its key oil pipeline after a drone attack halted it last week. The East-West pipeline, which stretches across the Arabian Peninsula and can carry up to 7 million barrels per day, was shut down on September 10. However, state-run Saudi Aramco is working to bypass a damaged section and has made significant progress in restoring part of its capacity.
A person familiar with the matter said that full capacity could return in about six weeks, but for now, the company is aiming to restore half of the pipeline's capacity within days. This is a crucial development as the outage threatened exports through the pipeline and disrupted traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, causing crude prices to rise above $107 per barrel in London.
Aramco has been ramping up oil sales from outside the Strait of Hormuz to make up for some of the lost volumes. The company has sold about 20 million barrels to Asian refiners this week that can be picked up in September and October, according to traders familiar with the matter. However, customers in Europe are facing delays, which has spurred a jump in regional crude prices.