Saudi pipeline outage threatens 4 pct of global oil supply

LONDON

This handout satellite image released by Vantor shows a view of a pumping station along the general route of Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline (Petroline) in al-Mesabaah, southeast of Medina, on October 29, 2025. (AFP Photo / Satellite image ©2026 Vantor)

Saudi Arabia risks running out of oil stocks used for exports within days unless its East-West pipeline restarts, threatening up to 4 percent of global supply, oil buyers and traders told Reuters.

The pipeline, shut after drone attacks last week, had been carrying around 4 million barrels per day to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.

It has allowed the kingdom to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, where the war has severely disrupted shipping.

Three sources familiar with Saudi exports told Reuters on Sept. 13 that Yanbu had enough oil in storage to sustain exports for five to seven days.

Riyadh has not disclosed the full extent of the damage or a timetable for restoring flows. One source said repairs could take five to six weeks, while another said the pipeline could restart sooner and operate partially during repairs.

A fourth source said Saudi stocks at Egypt’s Ain Sukhna and Sidi Kerir ports could cover several days of deliveries. The storage facilities were not full and supplies would eventually run out without the pipeline resuming operations, the sources said.

Saudi Arabia’s government media office and Energy Ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

The kingdom told OPEC that crude production fell to 6.2 million barrels per day in August from 10.9 million in February, before the war.

Houthi fighters in Yemen also seized Perim island at the southern entrance to the Red Sea on Sept. 11, posing a further threat to Saudi shipments.

The International Energy Agency forecast on Sept. 11 that global oil supply would fall by 5.7 million barrels per day this year.