Saudi Arabia restarts the East-West pipeline / Crude oil exports through the port of Yanbu could resume

Saudi Arabia has resumed operations on the East-West oil pipeline and could restart crude oil exports on Tuesday from the port of Yanbou on the Red Sea, according to sources close to the matter cited by Reuters. The infrastructure had been shut down on September 13 following a drone attack that halted the loading of Saudi oil at the port.

The pipeline plays a strategic role amid disruptions to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a route through which approximately 20% of global seaborne hydrocarbon shipments normally pass. Saudi Arabia uses it to redirect around four million barrels of crude oil per day to the Red Sea, equivalent to approximately 4% of global production.

The sources said that the oil pipeline is currently operating at a reduced rate, and returning to normal capacity could take several weeks. A tanker bound for China was scheduled to be loaded at Yanbou.

Announcements regarding the resumption of operations put pressure on oil prices. The Brent price fell below the threshold of $100 per barrel at around 12:15 GMT. The state oil company Aramco has not yet provided comment.