Saudi Arabia shuts East-West oil pipeline after drone attack from Iraq

  • Saudi Arabia shut the East-West oil pipeline after a drone attack from Iraqi territory.
  • The 1,201-kilometer pipeline can carry up to 7 million barrels per day.
  • The route was built in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war.

Saudi Arabia shut its East-West oil pipeline as a precaution after a drone attack from Iraqi territory, threatening a major alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway was blockaded by Iran after the U.S.-Israeli attack in late February, disrupting global oil exports. Built in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war, the 1,201-kilometer pipeline crosses the Arabian Peninsula to Yanbu on the Red Sea. Saudi Aramco chairman Yasir O. Al-Rumayyan said engineers had expanded its capacity to 7 million barrels per day, nearly 30% above its prewar level. The attack demonstrated that infrastructure intended to protect oil flows from disruption in the Persian Gulf can also be exposed to attacks from Iran and its proxies.

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