Saudi Arabia’s shutdown of a major oil pipeline following a recent drone attack is adding fresh pressure to already-strained global energy markets, raising fears of deeper shortages and higher prices for fuel and other essentials, according to The Associated Press.
The world’s largest oil producer closed its East-West pipeline on September 11 after an attack it blamed on drones launched by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. Two regional officials told the Associated Press that repairs could take three to five weeks.
The 1,200-kilometre pipeline runs across Saudi Arabia, carrying crude from a processing facility near the Persian Gulf westward to the Red Sea. Oil is then loaded onto tankers travelling north toward Europe through the Suez Canal or south through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait toward Asia.
The pipeline was built in the 1980s amid concerns that Tehran could disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran-Iraq war. It became especially important during the first six months of the current war, when much of the tanker traffic through Hormuz remained at a standstill.
Rystad Energy said September 14 that between 2.6 million and 4 million barrels of oil a day had moved through the pipeline and out of the Red Sea port of Yanbu since late August. That supply is now at risk of “disappearing from the market.”
Four million barrels a day represents about 4% of global oil supply, according to the International Energy Agency. Saudi Arabia produced nearly 10 million barrels a day in September 2025 but had fallen to 6 million barrels a day in August, the IEA said.
Janiv Shah, vice president of oil markets for Rystad Energy, said the rise in Brent prices shows the market is already responding to “a significant loss of supply.” Saudi inventories could support exports in the coming days, he said, but that “could change quickly.”
The Strait of Hormuz remains another critical concern. Before the war, about 20 million barrels of oil passed through the waterway each day. Some tankers have resumed crossings, although traffic remains below prewar levels. Lloyd’s List Intelligence counted 90 transits during the first week of September, compared with about 130 ships daily before the war.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have also tightened their hold on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Melius Research estimated that about 3 million barrels of oil a day were moving through the passage in early September but said on September 14 that “it’s likely zero now.”
Despite the disruptions, some oil is still leaving Saudi Arabia through Hormuz.
“If this [East-West pipeline] was the only method for Saudi Arabia to get their oil out it would be absolutely cataclysmic,” said Salvatore Mercogliano, a professor of maritime history at Campbell University in North Carolina. “But since the Hormuz route has opened back up — not completely but opened up some — it’s not the death knell for Saudi Arabia. They’re getting oil out.”
Meanwhile, consumers are already facing higher fuel costs. In the United States, regular gasoline averaged nearly $4.32 a gallon on September 14, up almost 45% from $2.98 before the war, according to AAA. Diesel reached $6.23 a gallon, nearly 66% higher than at the start of the war.
“An inflationary spillover is likely,” Melius Research analysts warned, pointing to pressure on fertiliser and energy prices. “The diesel crunch is also coming ahead of the U.S. harvesting and heating season.”
By Sabina Mammadli
