Saudi Aramco Battles to Restore Damaged East-West Pipeline

Saudi Aramco is working to bypass a damaged section of its critical East-West crude oil pipeline after multiple drone strikes from Iraq earlier this month.

The pipeline, which spans 745 miles and carries between 4 million and 5 million barrels per day, was shut down as a precautionary measure after the attacks.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy said that emergency and specialized technical teams were deployed to secure the pipeline and assess its safety, but did not provide a restart schedule or details on what equipment was damaged at Pump Stations 8 and 9.

Bloomberg reported that full capacity could return in about six weeks, while U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said during a CNBC interview that crude oil should again flow through the pipeline 'within days', although Reuters sources put repairs at five to six weeks or partial pumping resuming sooner as repairs continue.