Oil supply risks 4% drop after pipeline closure

Global crude oil supply faces a loss of up to 4% if Saudi Arabia does not restart its primary East-West pipeline to the Red Sea within days. Buyers and traders warned on Sunday, 13 September 2026, that export inventories will run out quickly. Drone attacks forced the closure of the infrastructure on Friday, worsening an existing supply crunch that has already pushed fuel prices to record levels, accelerated global inflation, and driven US Treasury yields to their highest levels since 2008.

The East-West pipeline previously allowed Saudi Arabia to redirect about 4 million barrels per day around the closed Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea port of Yanbu. Industry sources indicated that Yanbu now holds enough storage to maintain export operations for only five to seven days. Yanbu maintains a total storage capacity of roughly 35 million barrels. Additional backup inventories are held at Egypt's ports of Ain Sukhna and Sidi Kerir, which have capacities of 18 million and 20 million barrels, respectively, but those volumes are not full.

Estimates regarding repair timelines vary widely across industry sources. One report suggested that full repairs could take between five and six weeks, while another source stated that partial pumping could resume sooner while maintenance is ongoing. Neither the Saudi government media office nor the energy ministry issued an immediate comment.

Wider regional disruptions continue to restrict Middle East energy flows. Middle Eastern output stood at roughly 22 million barrels per day before the war, but flows through the Strait of Hormuz have fallen to between 6 million and 9 million barrels per day. The International Energy Agency reported on Friday, 11 September 2026, that Saudi crude supply dropped in August to its lowest level in over three decades. The agency projects that total global oil supply will drop by 5.7 million barrels per day this year, or approximately 6%. Saudi Arabia reported to OPEC that its production dropped to 6.2 million barrels per day in August, down from 10.9 million barrels per day in February.