Three Saudi East-West Pipeline pumping stations damaged in recent drone strike
Satellite images and industry sources confirm that three pumping stations on Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline were hit in a drone attack, with repair timelines still uncertain.
Recent satellite imagery, corroborated by three industry sources, shows that a drone attack from Iraq struck three pumping stations along Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline, a key 1,200-km conduit for 4-5 million barrels of oil per day. Initial assessments had identified damage to two stations, but the latest analysis adds a third, bringing the total of affected sites to three out of eleven stations and two pressure-relief stations on the line.
Saudi Aramco and the Saudi government have not provided comments, and repair estimates vary, with some experts suggesting five to six weeks for full recovery while others anticipate partial resumption of flow during repairs. The pipeline, which has become the primary export route for global Middle East oil supplies over the past six months, mitigates the impact of the largely shut Strait of Hormuz, accounting for about 4-5 percent of worldwide oil supply.
Why it matters
The damage threatens a vital oil export route that currently offsets disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
How this story developed
- Sep 8 Houthi strikes wound dozens in Saudi cities as coalition vows retaliation
- Sep 13 The Ministry of External Affairs condemned the attack on the commercial vessel MT El Gaia off the coast of Oman, saying 13 of the 14 Indian crew have been rescued and search continues for the missing Indian national.
- Sep 13 Saudi east‑west oil pipeline shut after a drone strike.
- Sep 13 Houthis allege Saudi forces carried out more than 50 attacks on their targets in a single day.
- Sep 14 Oman hosts a Gulf meeting on Hormuz while Bahrain refuses to participate.
- Sep 14 In a post on X, the European Commission President condemned the Houthi assault on Saudi and American military sites, calling it an act of aggression. She stressed that the EU will continue cooperating with Gulf partners to ensure secure, free shipping through the Hormuz Strait. The statement also highlighted the broader goal of Middle-East stability, which the EU views as a shared interest. The Houthi group claimed to have launched dozens of ballistic missiles and drones, citing retaliation for Saudi air strikes in Yemen. Saudi officials responded by ordering air patrols in several southern regions.
- Sep 14 Iranian cargo vessel hit near Qeshm Island, killing one crew member and prompting Oman to delay the Hormuz talks.
- Sep 15 Houthi forces reported seizing the Greater and Lesser Hanish islands.
- Sep 15 Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met President Abdel Fattah al‑Sisi in Cairo to discuss Red Sea navigation and retaliation against the Houthis.
- Sep 16 Saudi civil defense issued emergency shelter warnings for Jeddah, Mecca and Taif.
- Sep 16 Saudi Arabia said it intercepted a drone aimed at Mecca and accused Iran-backed Houthi rebels of the plot, which the rebels denied.
- Sep 16 Saudi Arabia announced the cancellation of September crude cargoes to Europe.
- Sep 16 Saudi coalition announced a drone it said was Houthi‑linked was heading toward Mecca and triggered a brief security alert.
- Sep 16 Houthis seized coastal towns and islands at the mouth of the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
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