Saudi Arabia has shut down its critical East-West oil pipeline after it came under drone attack, as the wider Middle East conflict escalates and Iran-aligned Houthi forces extend their control over Yemen’s Red Sea coastline.
The Saudi Energy Ministry confirmed on Friday that the pipeline, which runs 1,200 km from the Abqaiq oilfield in the east to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, was closed as a precaution after multiple drone strikes hit sections of the pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions on Thursday morning, causing fires and injuring several people.
Saudi and Iraqi officials both said the drones had been launched from Iraq, where Iran-backed militias are known to operate. Iraq’s prime minister’s office subsequently dismissed a military commander who had led operations in Maysan province, near the Iranian border, in connection with the attack.
The East-West pipeline, with a capacity of around 7 million barrels a day, has served as Saudi Arabia’s main workaround for exporting crude while the Strait of Hormuz has remained largely blocked amid the broader conflict between the United States and Iran.
Its closure removes a key alternative route just as Houthi forces in Yemen complete a rapid advance along the Red Sea coast, reportedly seizing the strategic island of Mayun, also known as Perim, in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a chokepoint that connects the southern Red Sea to global shipping lanes.
Saudi Arabia said it would not retaliate for the pipeline strikes for now, following a request from Iraq’s prime minister, though it reserved the right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty and critical infrastructure.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has separately asked US President Donald Trump for military assistance against the Houthis, according to sources familiar with the matter, though Trump has so far indicated Washington would offer intelligence support rather than direct military intervention.
The combined disruptions have pushed oil prices sharply higher, with prices breaking above $100 a barrel for the first time in months and closing out the week more than 8% higher, while US diesel prices have also surged.
With Saudi Arabia unable to easily reroute crude to Yanbu while the pipeline is down, and Houthi control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait complicating exports from the west coast, the kingdom is expected to lean more heavily on alternative routes such as Egypt’s Suez Canal or the Sumed pipeline.
