Saudi Arabia Restores East-West Pipeline to 3.5 Million Barrels Per Day After Drone Attack, Half of Pre-Strike Capacity

Saudi Arabia has restored flows through its East-West pipeline to approximately 3.5 million barrels per day, about half of the volume the pipeline was carrying before drone strikes forced its shutdown on September 11, 2026, according to Bloomberg, AGBI, and Rigzone reporting published September 28-29. Saudi Aramco tested the pipeline last week in preparation for restarting flows, and shipments destined for export have now resumed, according to Bloomberg and Saudi Gazette reporting September 28. The pipeline carries crude from Saudi Arabia's eastern oil fields to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. A person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that a full resumption to pre-attack capacity could take about six weeks.

The partial restoration provides some relief to global oil markets while the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed. The kingdom has used the Hormuz route to push overall oil exports to a wartime high of over 5 million barrels per day in September, with most supply heading to Asia, according to Rigzone. However, the Red Sea route has come under threat from Houthi militants, who have stepped up attacks this month targeting energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia's southwest and at Yanbu, Rigzone reported. The pipeline's September 10-11 shutdown removed up to 4 percent of global oil supply at a time when Hormuz throughput remains at a small fraction of typical levels, according to Al Jazeera and other sources. The drone attacks, which Saudi Arabia said were launched from Iraq, damaged three pumping stations along the pipeline route, according to satellite imagery and industry sources cited by Hydrocarbon Processing.

Sources

Bloomberg, Eva Brendel and Marilen Martin, Saudi Arabia's Crucial Oil Pipeline Starts Exports After Repairs, September 28, 2026, bloomberg.com; AGBI, Saudi Arabia restores oil flows through East-West pipeline, September 29, 2026, agbi.com; Rigzone, Saudi Arabia's Key Oil Pipeline Starts Exports, September 28, 2026, rigzone.com; Saudi Gazette, Saudi Arabia resumes oil exports via East-West Pipeline after repairs, September 28, 2026, saudigazette.com.sa; Hydrocarbon Processing, Saudi East-West Pipeline building up volumes, loading yet to resume, September 26, 2026, hydrocarbonprocessing.com; Al Jazeera, Why Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline matters for global oil, September 14, 2026, aljazeera.com