U.S. Energy Secretary says Saudi East-West oil pipeline to resume operations soon

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC that Saudi Arabia’s East-West crude oil pipeline is expected to resume operations within a few days after being closed due to damage from drone attacks launched from Iraq. The attacks, which he said were carried out by Iran-backed proxy groups, forced the shutdown late last week.

Wright said the interruption would be brief and temporary, and noted that Saudi exporters are temporarily routing more oil through the Strait of Hormuz with U.S. military support while the pipeline is offline. He added that the pipeline is a key route for moving crude to the Red Sea, reducing reliance on the Hormuz corridor.

U.S. crude prices have risen above $105 a barrel this week as markets assess the potential impact of the outage. Satellite images show significant damage to a pumping station, and Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, said repairs could take months based on the imagery.

Saudi officials have described the closure as a precautionary measure and have not released a detailed damage assessment or a timeline for full restoration. Analysts estimate that a month-long shutdown could affect up to 120 million barrels of oil, assuming the pipeline normally transports about 4.5 million barrels per day and that 15 million barrels are stored at the Yanbu terminal on the Red Sea.