Key Saudi Pipeline Is Back in Action

Oil is once again moving across Saudi Arabia instead of around it. Saudi Aramco has restarted exports through its 750-mile East-West pipeline after repairing damage from Sept. 10 drone strikes launched from Iraq, sources tell the Wall Street Journal. Crude is flowing at about 3.5 million barrels per day to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, roughly half the line's capacity, with some supplies feeding domestic refineries, the sources say.

Sources told Reuters last week that the kingdom had restarted the pipeline for testing, but crude had yet to be loaded onto tankers, and it could take six weeks or longer for oil to resume flowing at full capacity. The pipeline has become a critical workaround to the Strait of Hormuz amid the Iran war and attacks on regional shipping lanes, including those blamed on Iran-backed Houthi militants. With flows partially restored, Aramco has more flexibility to avoid chokepoints, even as oil prices climbed Monday on concerns over US-Iran diplomacy, the Journal reports.