Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline to resume oil flow within days, says US Energy Secretary

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced on September 14 that Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline is expected to resume operations within days, following a drone attack that forced a precautionary shutdown earlier this month. The pipeline, better known as Petroline, is one of the most strategically important pieces of oil infrastructure on the planet.

The 1,200-kilometer artery connects the Persian Gulf oil fields to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, giving Saudi Arabia a way to export crude without sending tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. When that chokepoint gets dicey, Petroline becomes the backup plan for roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply.

What happened and what comes next

The latest attack, attributed to Iranian-backed militias, struck pumping stations along the pipeline around September 10-11. Saudi authorities shut down flows as a precaution and have been assessing the damage since.

Wright’s comments suggest partial operations could restart quickly, though full repairs may take several weeks. The pipeline has a maximum design capacity of 7 million barrels per day, but flow estimates before the shutdown ranged between 2.6 million and 5 million bpd.

This isn’t the first time the pipeline has been targeted in recent months. In April 2026, a separate attack reduced output by 700,000 barrels per day. Saudi operators managed to restore full capacity within days on that occasion, which is likely informing the relatively optimistic timeline Wright offered.

Why this pipeline matters beyond Saudi Arabia

The Strait of Hormuz sits between Iran and Oman, and roughly 20% of the world’s petroleum passes through it on any given day. By routing crude overland to Yanbu on the Red Sea coast, tankers can head west toward Europe and the Americas without ever entering the Persian Gulf.

Saudi Arabia has been quietly shifting more of its export volume through the pipeline in response to ongoing regional conflicts. The flow estimates of 2.6 to 5 million bpd before the shutdown represent a significant share of total Saudi exports, which typically run around 6 to 7 million bpd depending on OPEC+ quotas and market conditions.

Market implications and what to watch

Market participants will be watching two numbers closely in the coming days: how quickly any flow resumes, and at what rate. A pipeline operating at 2 million bpd is a very different story than one running at 5 million. The gap between partial restart and full capacity restoration will be where the real price action plays out.

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