Saudi East-West Pipeline Restarts After Drone Attack

Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline has resumed oil flows after being temporarily shut down following a drone attack earlier this month. The pipeline, which carries about 3.5 million barrels a day, was attacked on September 10 and had been carrying around half of its pre-attack capacity.

The pipeline is the backbone of Saudi Arabia's oil industry, and its shutdown contributed to a drop in oil production in August, with levels falling to their lowest since 1990. Despite this, tankers were seen loading 10 million barrels of crude oil on Sunday, according to Tanker Trackers.

The East-West Pipeline is critical for Saudi Arabia's oil exports, particularly since Iran effectively closed its preferred export routes through the Strait of Hormuz at the end of February. The pipeline has been aiming to export 5 million barrels a day since the outbreak of the war from its pipeline via the Red Sea.