Saudi Oil Loadings Resume at Yanbu After Pipeline Attack

The Saudi Arabian Oil Company, also known as Saudi Aramco, has successfully bypassed damaged sections of its East-West crude oil pipeline to resume oil loadings from the Red Sea port at Yanbu.

This comes after a drone attack on the pipeline in early September caused disruptions to deliveries. Despite these efforts, Jesus Davis, a vice president for energy services at Industrial Info, noted that product is still moving through the damaged sections with some sections bypassed.

The East-West crude oil pipeline has a peak capacity of 7 million barrels per day and spans over 745 miles across the Saudi peninsula. Corey Ranslem, CEO of Dryad Global, pointed out that vessel traffic in the Bab al-Mandab Strait separating Saudi Arabia from Africa is significantly lower than usual, standing at around 30 vessels per day compared to an average of 80.

The ongoing risks and uncertainties have led to a rise in Brent crude oil prices, which are now near the $100 per barrel mark. The White House is considering banning exports of some refined petroleum products as fuel prices continue to climb.