Riyadh says UAVs launched from Iraq struck the East-West route used to bypass the Strait of Hormuz

Saudi Arabia has been forced to shut down its strategic East-West oil pipeline after drone attacks damaged pumping facilities along the route, dealing another blow to the kingdom's ability to export crude amid the US-Iran war.

The Saudi Energy Ministry said on Friday that the pipeline was hit at several locations in the Riyadh and Medina regions the day before, causing "some injuries" and prompting authorities to halt operations as a "precautionary measure." Emergency teams are assessing the damage, and Riyadh has not said when pumping will resume.

Two US officials cited by CNN said preliminary analysis indicated that at least two pumping stations along the pipeline were struck by drones. Satellite imagery reportedly showed extensive fire damage at one facility and a smaller blaze at another.

The East-West pipeline carries crude from Saudi Arabia's oil-producing Eastern Province across the kingdom to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, allowing exports to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. It can transport up to 7 million barrels per day, with roughly 5 million bpd available for export after supplying western refineries.

The route has become particularly important since fighting between Washington and Tehran severely disrupted shipping through Hormuz. Saudi Arabia has rerouted around 5 million barrels per day that would otherwise have been loaded at Persian Gulf terminals through the pipeline to the Red Sea.

The pipeline shutdown comes just as Iran-aligned Houthi forces in Yemen have pushed back Saudi-backed government forces and seized the Red Sea port of Mocha and Mayun Island at the entrance to another strategic waterway, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

The Houthis have also directly targeted Saudi energy infrastructure. Satellite imagery from September 9 appeared to show significant damage at Saudi Aramco's Jazan facilities in the south of the kingdom, including at least four oil storage tanks destroyed and signs of fire damage at a processing area. The attacks followed a major Houthi missile and drone barrage against energy sites in Jazan, Abha and other southern cities, which Saudi authorities acknowledged had forced operations at some facilities to halt.

Riyadh said the latest attack on the pipeline did not come from Yemen or Iran, but from Iraqi territory. Saudi Arabia reserved the right to defend its territory and critical infrastructure, but said it would hold off on retaliation at the request of Iraq's prime minister, giving Baghdad an opportunity to investigate and prevent further attacks.

Baghdad subsequently said it had traced the drones to the southern province of Maysan, dismissed the chief of its Maysan Operations Command and opened a separate inquiry into the command's failute to prevent the strike.

The developments leave Riyadh squeezed between disruptions at both ends of its export network: Iran has challenged shipping through Hormuz in the east, while the Houthi advance threatens Red Sea traffic in the west. Saudi crude production already plunged to 6.238 million barrels per day in August, its lowest level since 1990, according to Bloomberg.

Oil prices remain above $100 a barrel following the renewed escalation. Brent settled at about $104.61 on Friday, ending the week nearly 9% higher.

(RT.com)