Critical Saudi Arabian oil pipeline attacked will remain closed for weeks
According to two regional officials, a major oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia hit by a drone attack will be out of service for weeks due to repair work.
The repair of the critical Saudi Arabian oil pipeline damaged as a result of a drone attack will take weeks, and this situation has raised concerns regarding global oil supply, leading to a rise in prices.
Pipeline Damaged
The attacked critical Saudi Arabian oil pipeline will largely remain out of service for weeks to repair the damage and complete restoration work.
Two regional officials briefed on the matter stated that repairing the damage at the main pumping facility could take three to five weeks.
Global Oil Markets Affected
These developments raised concerns about the world's largest exporter's capacity to deliver its crude oil to the market and global oil supplies.
With the growing concerns, an increase of more than 2 percent was recorded in oil prices.
Importance of the East-West Pipeline
The war with Iran had forced the kingdom to shift its exports away from the Persian Gulf, as Iranian attacks disrupted maritime shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Therefore, Saudi Arabia relied on the country's 1,200-kilometer East-West Pipeline to transport crude oil production from Gulf ports to the Yanbu port on the Red Sea.
Attack and Security Threats
Officials were forced to shut down the pipeline following Thursday's attack, for which Saudi Arabia blamed drones from Iran-backed militias in Iraq.
Meanwhile, Houthi seizure of strategic islands in Yemen over Red Sea shipping routes dealt another blow to the country's oil exports.