Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline Back at 5.8 Million Barrels Per Day

Saudi Arabia's energy minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, announced that the East-West Pipeline has resumed full operations, reaching a capacity of 5.8 million barrels per day (bpd). The remarks were made during a panel discussion at the GCC 2026 Forum in Manama, Bahrain. Prince Abdulaziz highlighted the quick recovery of the pipeline, which was temporarily shut down after a drone attack last month. He noted that within five or six days, the pipeline was back in service.

The 1,200km pipeline, also known as the Petroline, connects Saudi Arabia's eastern oil fields to the Red Sea port of Yanbu. This route allows the kingdom to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely closed since the outbreak of the US-Israel war on Iran in late February. The pipeline has a maximum capacity of 7 million bpd, although actual flows have been lower in recent months due to attacks by Yemen's Houthi group.

Since the conflict disrupted oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia has been rerouting about 4 million bpd through the East-West Pipeline to Yanbu. This amounts to approximately 4 percent of global oil supply. The Saudi Ministry of Energy had initially shut the pipeline as a precaution following the attack in early September, but specialized teams quickly secured and assessed its safety.