Saudi Arabia shuts East-West oil pipeline after drone attacks

Saudi Arabia has shut down a key oil pipeline after accusing Iraqi militants of attacking the export route, which had been used to bypass the blocked Strait of Hormuz, The Guardian reports.

The East-West pipeline, which stretches about 1,200 kilometers, connects Abqaiq on the Persian Gulf coast with the Red Sea port of Yanbu. 

The Saudi Foreign Ministry condemned attacks on the pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions. Several drones launched from Iraq struck the route, injuring people. A representative of the Energy Ministry had earlier told the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) that oil pumping had been “stopped as a precaution.”

US President Donald Trump told reporters in Dublin that he believed Tehran was behind the attack. On September 12, Iraqi authorities confirmed that the strikes had been carried out from Iraqi territory and ordered an investigation while condemning the attacks. The office of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi announced the dismissal of the commander of Maysan province in the south.

Satellite images taken on September 10 showed black smoke near Medina along the pipeline route. According to the International Energy Agency, Saudi oil exports through the Red Sea port have more than doubled since the start of the war.

Oil prices surpassed $100 (around 8,400 rubles) per barrel this week, while average diesel prices in the United States reached $6 for the first time. Against this backdrop, Yemen’s Houthis seized the strategic island of Perim in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, expanding their control over one of the key maritime routes linking Europe and Asia.

By Jeyhun Aghazada