Saudi Pipeline Is Down—Reuters Sources Say 4% of Global Oil Supply Could Be at Risk Within Days

One of the world’s most important oil detours is suddenly unavailable—and the clock may be measured in days, not months.

Saudi Arabia has shut its East–West Pipeline after multiple attacks, removing the route that has helped the kingdom bypass severe disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. Industry sources told Reuters that oil stored at the Red Sea port of Yanbu could maintain exports for only five to seven days if pumping does not resume.

After that buffer is exhausted, roughly 4 million barrels a day—about 4% of global oil supply—could be at risk, according to the Reuters report published Sunday, Sept. 13.

Saudi Arabia confirms the pipeline shutdown

The Saudi Press Agency, citing the Energy Ministry, said the pipeline was attacked in the Riyadh and Madinah regions on the morning of Sept. 10. The government said several people were injured and that emergency teams moved to secure the system and assess its safety.

The ministry described the shutdown as precautionary and said further developments would be announced. It did not disclose how extensive the damage was or provide a timetable for restarting the line.

That missing timetable is the key uncertainty. Sources speaking to Reuters offered sharply different repair estimates: one said the work might take five to six weeks, while another said partial pumping could resume sooner. Those estimates are not an official Saudi forecast.

Why this pipeline matters far beyond Saudi Arabia

The roughly 1,200-kilometer East–West Pipeline carries crude from Saudi Arabia’s eastern production areas across the Arabian Peninsula to Yanbu on the Red Sea. Its value has grown dramatically because it allows exports to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.

For months, Saudi Arabia has used the route to redirect about 4 million barrels per day, Reuters reported. Aramco described the pipeline, storage capacity and export terminals as central to maintaining business continuity in its August financial update.

Without that flow, Yanbu must rely on oil already in storage. Reuters’ sources estimated that the port holds enough to keep exports moving for five to seven days. Smaller Saudi stocks held at Egypt’s Ain Sukhna and Sidi Kerir ports could provide several additional days of supply, but they do not replace continuous pipeline deliveries.

The market was already short of oil

This outage did not strike a comfortable market. The International Energy Agency’s September Oil Market Report said global production fell by 1.6 million barrels per day in August and projected total 2026 supply would fall by 5.7 million barrels per day from the previous year.

The IEA also said observed inventories had dropped by 507 million barrels since February. August alone accounted for a 95-million-barrel decline. Those depleted buffers make any interruption to a major bypass route more consequential than it would be in a well-supplied market.

Benchmark crude prices were already above $100 a barrel last week, while U.S. diesel set another record above $6.20 a gallon Sunday, according to Reuters’ broader report on the regional disruptions.

What consumers should—and should not—assume

A threatened loss of 4% of global supply does not mean that amount has already disappeared. Saudi Arabia is still shipping oil from inventories, repairs could restore some pipeline capacity, and producers or governments could respond with alternative supplies.

But the risk is substantial because the pipeline has been doing the work of a strategic escape route. If Yanbu’s stocks decline before pumping resumes, buyers may have to compete for fewer available barrels. That can filter into crude prices, diesel, jet fuel, shipping expenses and ultimately the price of transported goods.

The next decisive facts will come from Saudi authorities: how much of the pipeline is damaged, whether partial operations can restart and how quickly exports can be sustained beyond the current stockpile. Until then, the most alarming figure—4% of world supply—remains a credible risk estimate, not a confirmed loss.