Saudi East-West Pipeline Restart Fuels Oil Price Decline

The East-West oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia has resumed operations after being shut down on September 13 following drone attacks. This move could lead to a resumption of crude exports from the Red Sea port of Yanbu, which was halted due to the attack.

The restart of supplies has put downward pressure on global oil prices, with Brent crude futures falling by over $2 a barrel to their lowest level since September 8. Saudi Arabia, the world's leading oil exporter within OPEC, had been using the pipeline to reroute around 4 million barrels per day to Yanbu, equivalent to roughly 4% of global oil supply.

However, it appears that the pipeline is currently operating at a low rate, and one source suggests that Saudi Aramco is working to restore the flow rate to around 4 million barrels per day. A security source noted that a full resumption could take several weeks.