Saudi Pipeline Closure Sparks Fears of Global Energy Shortages
Saudi Arabia's closure of its East-West pipeline has raised concerns about global energy markets facing even starker shortages due to the ongoing war with Iran.
The 1,200-kilometer-long pipeline was shut down after a drone attack on Friday, which Saudi officials blamed on Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. According to regional officials, repairs could take three to five weeks.
The pipeline is crucial for transporting crude oil from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea, where it's loaded onto tankers heading north towards Europe or south through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Rystad Energy estimates that an average of 2.6 million to 4 million barrels of oil per day moved through the pipeline and out of the Red Sea port of Yanbu since late August, a volume now at risk of 'disappearing from the market.'