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By Rareview Energydesk
Saudi Arabia has restarted operations on its strategically important East-West oil pipeline, paving the way for a possible resumption of crude exports from the Red Sea port of Yanbu and easing some of the immediate pressure on global oil supplies.
Three sources briefed on the matter told Reuters that the pipeline had resumed operations on Tuesday, although at a relatively low pumping rate. One cargo was expected to load at Yanbu later in the day, with China identified as its destination.
The development triggered an immediate reaction in the oil market. Brent crude futures fell by more than $2 a barrel on Tuesday, moving towards $97 a barrel and reaching their lowest level since September 8, as traders responded to the prospect of additional Saudi barrels returning to international markets.
The 1,200-kilometre East-West Pipeline, also known as Petroline, is one of Saudi Arabia’s most important strategic oil routes. It transports crude from the Kingdom’s oil-producing areas in the east to Yanbu on the Red Sea, allowing Saudi Arabia to bypass the Strait of Hormuz when shipping conditions in the Gulf are disrupted.
That function has become particularly important during the current Middle East conflict, which has severely restricted oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Prior to the latest disruption, Saudi Arabia was using the pipeline to move about four million barrels per day towards the Red Sea, equivalent to roughly four per cent of global oil supply, according to Reuters.
The pipeline was shut after drone attacks earlier this month damaged sections of the system and forced Saudi Arabia to suspend crude loadings at Yanbu. Reuters reported that the attacks damaged three pumping stations, raising questions about how quickly the system could be restored to normal operating levels.
Although pumping has now resumed, the immediate recovery should not be mistaken for a return to full capacity.
Two sources told Reuters that the pipeline was initially operating at a low rate. Another source said Saudi Aramco was working to restore flows towards four million barrels per day, while a security source estimated that a full resumption could take weeks. Reuters separately reported that restoring the pipeline to its full capacity of about seven million barrels per day could take six to eight weeks.
The distinction is important because the pipeline’s maximum capacity is considerably higher than the volume that had been routinely moved through it. Saudi Arabia expanded the East-West system during the current regional disruption, with reports earlier this year putting its full capacity at about seven million barrels per day.
The return of Yanbu as an export outlet could nevertheless provide meaningful logistical relief for Saudi Arabia and its customers.
Two trading sources said market participants were already positioning tankers around Egypt’s Port Said and Sidi Kerir to facilitate ship-to-ship transfers of Saudi crude, underscoring the extent to which traders are preparing for the restoration of Red Sea flows.
The pipeline also feeds Saudi refineries on the Red Sea coast, meaning its restart has implications beyond export logistics. Restoring the flow of crude westward gives Saudi Aramco greater flexibility in deciding how much crude should go into domestic refining and how much can be directed towards export markets.
Saudi Arabia has been forced to rely more heavily on alternative export arrangements since the East-West system was disrupted. The country has increased the use of its Gulf-side export infrastructure and alternative maritime routes to compensate for the loss of Yanbu, while traders have monitored movements through Oman and other regional hubs.
The episode has highlighted the strategic value of Saudi Arabia’s east-west infrastructure at a time when the Strait of Hormuz remains a major vulnerability for global oil supply. The EIA has previously estimated that more than 20 million barrels per day of oil and petroleum liquids normally move through Hormuz, making the waterway one of the world’s most consequential energy chokepoints. Recent disruption has dramatically reduced those flows.
For the international market, the Saudi pipeline restart therefore carries significance beyond the actual barrels being pumped today. It represents an additional supply route becoming available at a moment when traders are highly sensitive to every change in Middle Eastern crude flows.
Yet the market reaction should be interpreted cautiously. A pipeline operating at reduced pressure is not equivalent to four million barrels per day of fully restored export capacity, and certainly not to its maximum seven-million-barrel-per-day capability. Until pumping rates and Yanbu loadings return to sustainable levels, the global market will remain exposed to further disruptions.
The broader lesson is that the current oil-price volatility is being driven as much by logistics and infrastructure security as by physical production capacity. Saudi Arabia may have the crude, but getting those barrels reliably to the market has become the critical issue. The East-West Pipeline restart is therefore an important relief point, but the fact that a single damaged evacuation route can move Brent by several dollars shows how fragile the global supply system has become. For oil-importing countries such as Nigeria, the episode is another reminder that geopolitical shocks can quickly reshape freight routes, crude prices, refinery economics and ultimately the cost of energy far beyond the Middle East.