The kingdom plans upgrades to the East-West pipeline and a temporary switch of a gas line to carry crude. Drone strikes and Houthi attacks on shipping have pushed Saudi Arabia to build more resilient export routes.
More than 100 warplanes struck rebel positions as Yemeni government forces retook much of the Red Sea coast seized last month. Iran backed the Houthi offensive, raising fears of a direct confrontation with Saudi Arabia.
Amin H. Nasser called this the most serious energy supply shock of his career. Nearly 3 billion barrels of gross supply have been lost since the war began, and fewer than 6 billion barrels of commercial inventories remain — most of it not practically accessible.
Flames rose from an Aramco facility south of Riyadh on Saturday, with the Houthis saying they had hit it with missiles and drones. The exchange comes as the World Food Programme warns that three-quarters of Yemen's population cannot meet basic food needs.
The route is intended to reduce Iraq's dependence on the strategically sensitive waterway. Key details — including which port is being used, the volumes involved and who is supplying the fuel — have not been disclosed.
Ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman have risen to around 2.5 million barrels a day in September, up from 1.4 million in August. But drone strikes on Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline and Houthi control of Red Sea approaches have left the shuttle system with fewer fallback options.
Saudi Arabia aims to restart about half the capacity of its East-West pipeline within days, after drone strikes forced a shutdown last Friday. The disruption is deepening an already tight market: the IEA has raised its forecast for this year's global oil deficit to 1.7 million bpd and pushed back any surplus to 2027.
The 1,200-km East-West Pipeline was shut last week after drone attacks damaged two pumping stations. Aramco is selling extra crude to Asian buyers in the meantime to offset lost exports.
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