Saudi Arabia shuts East–West oil pipeline after drone strikes, disrupting Red Sea export route

On 11 September 2026 Saudi Arabia shut down its 1,200 km East–West crude oil pipeline as a precaution after multiple drone strikes that caused fires and damage to pumping stations, temporarily removing its main alternative export route to the Red Sea and tightening global crude and shipping redundancy.

The pipeline shutdown reduces Saudi ability to route eastern crude to Yanbu, tightening seaborne supply redundancy while the Bab el-Mandeb/Red Sea corridor faces Houthi disruption. That raises global crude and freight premia, which—if persistent—would raise import bills for African net fuel importers, add near-term inflationary pressure and could feed into local-rate and FX stress in vulnerable economies.

Official Saudi Energy Ministry update on repair timeline or formal restart date for the East–West pipeline.