Saudi East-West Pipeline Resumes After Nine-Day Shutdown

Saudi Arabia has resumed operations on its East-West oil pipeline after a nine-day shutdown caused by drone attacks. The pipeline, which bypasses disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, was initially operating at a low rate before being fully restored.

The pipeline's restart comes as Saudi Aramco seeks to restore flows to about 4 million barrels per day (bpd), around 4% of global oil supply. This is significant because since oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz were disrupted, Saudi Arabia has used the route to move about 4 million bpd to Yanbu.

The shutdown had halted crude loadings at the Red Sea port of Yanbu, and crude supply to Aramco's Red Sea refineries will also resume. A cargo bound for China is scheduled to load at Yanbu later on Tuesday.