RIYADH, September 13 — Saudi Arabia has shut down the East-West Pipeline, the main oil route that lets the kingdom move crude to market without passing through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the STORY. Oil prices rose after the closure, though the STORY does not specify the size of the increase or the current price level. The pipeline is operated by Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company based in Dhahran.
Known as the East-West Pipeline, or Petroline, it runs approximately 746 miles (1,200 kilometers) from the Abqaiq processing facility near the Persian Gulf to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea. Its stated capacity is about 5 million barrels per day, though it typically operates below that level.
Why a single pipeline matters
Think of the Strait of Hormuz as a highway with almost no exits. The strait, between Iran and Oman, connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. About 20 million barrels of oil per day — roughly 20% of global consumption — transit it, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The waterway is 21 miles (33 kilometers) wide at its narrowest point. The East-West Pipeline is one of the few ways around that highway.
It was built in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq War to give Saudi Arabia a secure export route away from the strait, and it was expanded in 2019 to its current capacity, allowing the kingdom to export up to 5 million barrels per day via the Red Sea. Here’s what it means in plain terms: with the pipeline offline, Saudi Arabia — the world’s largest oil exporter and a leading OPEC member — has less room to move its crude without relying on the strait.
The STORY does not say how much oil typically flows through the line, nor does it give a reason for the shutdown or indicate how long the pipeline will stay offline.
The market backdrop
Oil markets are sensitive to supply disruptions. In September 2019, attacks on Saudi Aramco’s Abqaiq and Khurais facilities knocked out 5.7 million barrels per day of production, causing the largest one-day jump in oil prices in history. The East-West Pipeline itself has been a target before; in 2019, a drone strike claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels damaged a pumping station on the line.
The closure comes amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East, including the conflict in Yemen and the standoff between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program. The STORY does not include any statement from Saudi Aramco, the Saudi government, or any other official, and it does not mention any military response.
The U.S. Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, patrols the waters near the strait. The shutdown could also affect natural gas liquids and other products that flow through the pipeline, and it may affect Saudi Arabia’s ability to meet its OPEC production quota, though the STORY does not provide the current quota. The pipeline is a key part of the kingdom’s strategy to diversify export routes; in 2019, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said it could be expanded further to 7 million barrels per day, but no final decision has been announced.
This is a developing story. Watch for any statement from Saudi Aramco or the Saudi government on the cause and duration of the closure, and for whether the shutdown pushes more tanker traffic back through the Strait of Hormuz — the one route the pipeline was built to avoid.
