Saudi Aramco declined to comment on reports that crude oil shipments to European refineries were cancelled or delayed after drone attacks struck the East-West pipeline, amid spreading energy transit disruptions across the region.
Pipeline shutdown hits deliveries
Shipments scheduled for late September were cancelled or delayed to November for at least 3 European refineries, according to market sources cited by Argus. The East-West pipeline transports crude from eastern Saudi oilfields to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. The Saudi Ministry of Energy ordered a precautionary shutdown of the conduit after drone strikes hit the Riyadh and Medina regions originating from Iraq.
US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said the outage on the pipeline would be measured in days.
Regional tensions escalate
Security risks widened along key Red Sea maritime chokepoints during the same period. Houthis seized control of the Port of Mokha and surrounding islands in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait from the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
The flare-up drew sharp warnings from regional capitals, while Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said the security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf is an integral part of Egypt’s national security in a public statement. Ibrahim bin Sultan Al-Hashmi, director of media and communication at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, said it would be catastrophic for the entire world.
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Source: Saudi Ministry of Energy
