Saudi Arabia on Friday moved to halt a key oil pipeline used to bypass the Strait of Hormuz after Iranian-backed Houthi militants launched a series of attacks the day prior, dealing another blow to the kingdom’s ability to move oil.
The Saudi energy minister said Friday that the East-West Pipeline was closed as a precaution after multiple attacks in the region. The energy minister did not say who was behind the attacks, but said shutting down the pipeline was a “precautionary measure.”
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister later said there was damage to the pipeline as a result of a drone launched by Iran-backed rebels in Iraq. The minister said the kingdom has been in contact with Iraq and will not take action as Iraqi officials address the situation.
The roughly 750-mile East-West Pipeline, also known as Petroline, carries crude oil from Saudi Arabia’s oil-producing regions in the east to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.
The pipeline could transport up to 5 million barrels per day before the war, providing the kingdom with a way to export oil without sending tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. After the strait was closed due to the Iran war, Saudi Arabia converted a gas pipeline to transport crude oil, boosting the kingdom’s overland oil transport to 7 million bpd.
The shutdown comes as the Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen have sharply escalated attacks against Saudi Arabia and expanded their control in Yemen’s Red Sea coast.
Houthi forces reached Perim Island, also known as Mayyun, and seized the coastal city of Dhubab, which sits directly across from the island. Mayyun is a strategic maritime chokepoint linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. Houthis also captured the strategic port city of Mokha on Thursday, farther north along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, giving the militants control over additional territory near the key shipping route.
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Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman sought U.S. assistance against the Houthis during calls with President Donald Trump on Thursday, Reuters reported. Washington reportedly declined to launch direct military strikes but offered intelligence and targeting assistance.
The overlapping disruptions have heightened concerns about global oil supplies as fighting has intensified and threats have mounted at both of the region’s major maritime chokepoints.