Saudi Arabia Restarts Red Sea Crude Loadings After Pipeline Repair
The partial recovery of the East-West pipeline reopens an export route around the Strait of Hormuz, while full capacity could take weeks to restore.
Saudi Arabia has restarted crude loadings at Red Sea terminals after partial service resumed on the East-West pipeline, reopening an export route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.
Loadings at Yanbu reached about 2 million barrels per day in the week before Sept. 29. Full pipeline flows of roughly 4 million barrels per day could take weeks to restore.
Saudi Aramco notified customers of Yanbu’s October loading schedule, indicating that shipments through the route are returning. Nearly 10 million barrels were observed at Yanbu and Al Muajjiz on Sunday, with 40 tankers identified near the terminals.
The East-West pipeline carries crude from Saudi Arabia’s eastern fields to Yanbu on the Red Sea. Its shutdown after attacks on pumping stations forced Saudi Arabia to redirect some shipments through Gulf terminals and use ship-to-ship transfers.
The restart may relieve regional supply pressure, but the pipeline remains below full capacity and the pace of recovery is still uncertain.
