Saudi Arabia’s key East-West oil pipeline attacked by drone hours after US-Iran ceasefire: Report

Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline, crucial for carrying crude from the Gulf to the Red Sea for export, has been attacked, sources told the Financial Times on Wednesday.

Sources were quoted as saying that a pumping station was hit by a drone at about 1pm local time on Wednesday. They said the damage was being assessed.

Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company that owns and operates the pipeline, declined to comment to the Financial Times. The company has been rerouting exports to the Red Sea via the line to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, the report added.

The pumping station under attack was one of several along the 1,200km pipeline that has become an economic lifeline for the kingdom since the near closure of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The attack came hours after Iran and the US agreed a ceasefire deal on Tuesday evening US time.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg explained that the East-West pipeline has become a crucial part of Saudi Arabia’s oil export business since Iran all but shut down traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

The shutdown allowed the kingdom — the world’s largest crude exporter — to re-route oil flows from the Persian Gulf to its Western shore, in the Red Sea.