Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline Hits 7 Million Barrels Per Day as Hormuz Closure Enters Fifth Week

Hormuz Crisis Week Five: Saudi East-West Pipeline Now Global Oil Market Lifeline

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser told analysts connected March 10 that afloat capableness was days away. Bloomberg confirmed the pipeline deed that people connected March 28, 2026. The way runs from the Abqaiq lipid processing hub successful the eastbound crossed the Arabian Peninsula to the Red Sea larboard of Yanbu.

Aramco built it successful the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq War for precisely this benignant of contingency. In mean times, the pipeline carried betwixt 1.7 and 2.8 cardinal barrels per time (bpd). Conversion of parallel earthy gas liquids lines to crude work made the 7 cardinal bpd fig possible.

At afloat throughput, astir 2 cardinal bpd feeds Saudi home refineries connected the westbound coast. The remaining 5 cardinal bpd moves toward Yanbu for export loading. Ship-tracking information tells a much analyzable story.

The five-day rolling mean of crude departures from Yanbu sits betwixt 3.66 and 5 cardinal barrels per day, with immoderate highest readings supra 4 million. The Yanbu terminal’s nominal loading capableness is estimated astatine 4 to 4.5 cardinal bpd. Wartime tanker scheduling and tidal windows trim that fig further successful practice.

Saudi Arabia is moving determination betwixt 50 and 70% of its pre-war export volumes done this route, according to expert estimates. The pipeline helps, but it does not marque up the afloat shortfall from Hormuz.

The Strait usually carries astir 20% of the world’s lipid supply. Since U.S. and Israeli subject strikes against Iran began successful precocious February, tanker postulation done the waterway has collapsed. Iran has mined sections of the strait successful immoderate reports and controls transition for others.

WTI crude closed Friday, March 27, betwixt $99.64 and $101.18 per tube — a regular summation of much than 5% and a emergence of astir 40% implicit the past month. Brent settled successful a scope of $105.32 to $112.57 per barrel. Physical Dubai crude, which reflects existent transportation conditions for Asian buyers, traded adjacent $126 per barrel.

Coordinated strategical reserve releases totaling astir 400 cardinal barrels are present underway globally — the largest connected record. Analysts astatine Goldman Sachs and S&P Global person already revised 2026 terms forecasts upward. If Hormuz postulation does not retrieve by mid-April, manufacture sources pass prices could scope $150 to $200 per tube successful a worst-case scenario.

The UAE’s Habshan-Fujairah pipeline is moving a akin bypass operation, providing a secondary outlet for Gulf producers. Together, the 2 pipelines correspond the superior carnal alternate to Hormuz for Arabian Peninsula crude exporters.

U.S. retail gasoline averaged betwixt $3.91 and $3.98 per gallon arsenic of precocious March, with further unit expected erstwhile Monday trading opens. President Trump’s five-day diplomatic deadline for Iran expired astir March 28 without a ceasefire oregon Hormuz agreement. Analysts spot nary near-term resolution.

Saudi Arabia’s Petroline was seldom operated adjacent afloat capableness successful peacetime. That has changed. It is present 1 of the astir consequential pipelines successful the planetary lipid market.

FAQ

• What is Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline? It is simply a 1,200-kilometer crude lipid pipeline moving from eastbound Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea larboard of Yanbu, built to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
• Why is the Petroline moving astatine afloat capableness successful 2026? U.S. and Israeli subject strikes against Iran person efficaciously closed the Strait of Hormuz, forcing Saudi Arabia to reroute crude exports overland.
• How overmuch lipid is the East-West Pipeline moving close now? Saudi Aramco confirmed connected March 28, 2026, that Petroline is operating astatine its maximum capableness of 7 cardinal barrels per day.
• Will the Saudi pipeline hole the planetary lipid proviso shortage? The pipeline partially offsets the Hormuz disruption but cannot regenerate the astir 20% of planetary lipid proviso that usually transits the strait.