Attack on Saudi Arabian pipeline may cut four percent of world's oil supply

Submitted by MEE staff on Mon, 09/14/2026 - 16:49 Kingdom may need five to six weeks to repair damage from a drone attack on the pipeline that has been a critical Strait of Hormuz bypass

A satellite image released by Vantor shows a view of a pumping station along the general route of Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline in al-Mesabaah, southeast of Medina, following a drone attack, on 13 September 2026 (Satellite image ©2026 Vantor/AFP) Off

Saudi Arabia may need five to six weeks to repair damage from a drone attack on its East-West Pipeline, taking nearly four percent of global oil supplies off the market, according to a report by Reuters.

Brent, the international benchmark, was trading up three percent on Monday at nearly $108 per barrel.

Oil already soared last week as a result of a lightning Houthi offensive that put the group in control of Yemen’s side of the Bab el-Mandeb, a key Red Sea chokepoint for Saudi Arabian oil shipments.

The rising price of Brent does not necessarily reflect the even higher prices that customers are paying for oil, and especially refined products like diesel.

Gregory Brew, an energy expert at Eurasia Group, wrote on X that physical crude sold from Oman is fetching $121 per barrel, and Murban crude, which is the price for oil shipped from the UAE port of Fujairah, is $131 per barrel.

The price spike comes as the global economy grapples with high inflation and soaring borrowing costs.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that higher diesel prices were not the result of the US-Israeli war on Iran, but Russian and Ukrainian attacks on their respective energy infrastructure. Trump said the two had agreed to pause those attacks.

East-West Pipeline: A Hormuz bypass damaged

Satellite images released by Vantor on Sunday showed massive damage at a pumping station along the route of Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, in al-Mesabaah, southeast of Medina.

Saudi Arabia said last week that the drone attack originated from Iraq, which is home to Shia-dominated militias aligned with Iran. Both Yemen’s Houthis and Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) are part of Iran’s "Axis of Resistance", although the Houthis operate with more independence from Tehran.

Still, the closure of Saudi Arabia’s pipeline is a win for both Iran and the Houthis, as it underscores the kingdom’s vulnerabilities.

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The Houthis are looking to capitalise on their offensive to expand territory under their control, while Iran wants to cement its hold over the Strait of Hormuz.

The East-West Pipeline has allowed Saudi Arabia to continue exporting around two-thirds of its pre-war oil volume despite Iran imposing a de facto blockade against Gulf producers in the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia has exported around four million barrels per day (bpd) of oil via the pipeline, or four percent of global supply.

Saudi Arabia built the East-West Pipeline in the 1980s as a bypass around the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran-Iraq war. It runs from the kingdom’s oil fields on the Gulf coast to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.

The pipeline’s closure will not only heap pressure on Saudi Arabia, but also remind other Gulf states of their vulnerabilities as they look for options to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

The UAE has used a small pipeline terminating at the Port of Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman to bypass Hormuz. But the pipeline sits just a short distance from Iran, much closer than Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline is to either Yemen or Iraq.

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