Saudi pipeline outage threatens loss of 4% of global oil supply
The Hindu – International
You are logged in
Loading…
You don’t have any Active Subscription.
Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one.
Your active subscription(s)
Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials,
Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription
Products you’ve access to
Additional Subscription Benefits
Account Settings
Need help with your subscription?
September 13, 2026 e-Paper
The View From India
Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.
First Day First Show
News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.
Today's Cache
Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.
Science For All
The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in!
Data Point
Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers
THEdge
At the cutting edge of education and careers
Health Matters
Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there
Gender Agenda
Stories from beyond the binary.
The Hindu On Books
Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.
September 13, 2026 e-Paper
Published – September 13, 2026 10:29 pm IST – LONDON
Satellite image shows the East-West pipeline facility in the Hejaz Region, Saudi Arabia, on September 8, 2026. 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Saudi Arabia will run out of oil stocks for exports if it doesn’t restart its major pipeline to the Red Sea within days, leading to a loss of up to 4% of global supply, Saudi oil buyers and traders said.
A further decline in Saudi flows will worsen the global supply crunch, which has already pushed global fuel prices to record highs, spurred inflation around the world and sent U.S. bond yields to the highest levels since the 2008 financial crisis.
Since drone attacks forced Saudi Arabia to shut its huge east-west oil pipeline on Friday (September 11, 2026), Riyadh has not given full details about the extent of the damage or how long the route will stay off-line.
Sources that spoke to Reuters gave varying estimates, with one saying the damage could take as long as five to six weeks to repair, while another said it could be fixed sooner and could resume pumping partially while repairs are ongoing.
Saudi Arabia’s government media office and energy ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
For the past six months, the pipeline running through the desert across the Arabian Peninsula has spared Saudi Arabia from the brunt of the impact of the wartime shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz that has crippled exports from its neighbours.
The world’s biggest exporter has used the pipeline to reroute around 4 million barrels per day — around 4% of global supply — to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea.
But with the pipeline out of service, Yanbu now has stocks to maintain exports for just five to seven days, according to three industry sources familiar with Saudi exports.
Saudi Arabia also has stocks to supply customers for several days from Egypt’s ports of Ain Sukhna on the Red Sea and Sidi Kerir on the Mediterranean, a fourth source said.
Yanbu storage capacity stands at around 35 million barrels, according to industry estimates, with Ain Sukhna and Sidi Kerir able to store 18 million and 20 million barrels respectively.
Stocks are not full and will ultimately run out without the east-west pipeline resuming operations, the four sources said.
Saudi oil supply has already fallen to a more than three-decade low in August on reduced flows via Hormuz and the Red Sea, the International Energy Agency said on Friday (September 11, 2026).
World oil supply will decline this year by 5.7 million bpd, or about 6%, the IEA, which coordinates Western energy policies, said.
In addition to the attack on the pipeline, Houthi fighters in Yemen, who have threatened Saudi oil shipments, seized an island on Friday (September 11) in the mouth of the Red Sea.
West Asia supplied around 22 million barrels per day of oil before the war. Flows through the Strait of Hormuz have slowed to just 6 million to 9 million bpd, industry sources say.
Saudi Arabia told OPEC last week that its oil production had dropped to just 6.2 million bpd in August from 10.9 million bpd in February before the start of the war.
Published – September 13, 2026 10:29 pm IST
Saudi Arabia
/
petrol
/
natural gas
Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
BACK TO TOP
Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.
Fonte: The Hindu – International
