Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline is expected to resume operations shortly after being shut down following attacks last week. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said its restart was not far off.
Wright said they had remained in constant contact with Saudi officials since the attack, while technical teams were assessing the damage. He added that a clearer timetable for restarting the pipeline was expected to emerge soon.
An alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz
The pipeline, which allows oil to be transported without using the Strait of Hormuz, carried approximately 4–5 million barrels of crude oil per day before it was shut down. That amount was equivalent to about 4–5% of global oil supply.
Wright said attacks on energy infrastructure were not new and that Iran had carried out such attacks in the past. He made the assessment while discussing efforts to repair the damage to the pipeline and resume shipments.
The route used by tankers in the Red Sea
Commenting on maritime traffic around Yemen, Wright said several million barrels of oil were transported through the region every day, but most commercial tankers did not pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. He said most tankers used the route through the Suez Canal and the pipeline in Egypt.
Wright also said the Houthis in Yemen had announced that they controlled some areas on the western coast and islands in the Red Sea. He included Perim Island, located in the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, among those areas.
Oil shipments through Hormuz continue
Despite differing statements from Washington and Tehran about the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, Wright said significant volumes of oil and petroleum products continued to pass through the waterway.
According to Wright, more than 12 million barrels of oil and petroleum products passed through the Strait of Hormuz the previous night. The seven-day average was more than 10 million barrels per day and was rising.
Wright said the U.S. assessments were based on ship manifests rather than estimates, adding that he received a report every morning listing the names of the vessels and the cargoes they were carrying.
Refinery capacity affects diesel supplies
Wright said constraints on global refining capacity were increasing pressure in energy markets. He added that the United States was focusing on increasing exports of refined petroleum products from the Middle East to ease supply shortages.
Wright said the sharp decline in Russia’s diesel exports was also among the reasons for the pressure. He said Moscow, previously one of the major suppliers, was no longer exporting diesel.
The comments came after Donald Trump called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop attacks on Russia’s refinery infrastructure. Trump argued that attacks on diesel production facilities in Russia were contributing to a global diesel shortage.
