Aramco Moves to Restore East-West Pipeline After Houthi Drone Strikes

Saudi Aramco is preparing to bring its East-West oil pipeline back into service within days, targeting a partial recovery of capacity after a drone attack by Houthi forces halted operations on the line.

The company expects to restore roughly half of the pipeline's throughput in the near term, according to the available accounts of the incident. The full extent of the damage and the timeline for a complete return to normal flows were not immediately clear.

The shutdown has disrupted crude shipments to Europe, with buyers on the continent moving to secure alternative supplies. The interruption adds pressure to a market already sensitive to any constraint on Gulf exports.

To keep oil moving while the pipeline remains impaired, the Kingdom may turn to so-called dark shipments — vessels operating with transponders switched off — as a means of sustaining exports without exposing them to further risk.

The East-West pipeline serves as a key artery for Saudi crude, offering a route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz and connects the Kingdom's eastern fields to terminals on the Red Sea. Its closure underscores the vulnerability of energy infrastructure in the region to drone warfare.

Aramco has not disclosed a final assessment of the damage, and it remains to be seen how quickly the remaining capacity can be brought back online. The partial restart, if achieved, would ease some of the strain on European customers who have already begun seeking replacements for lost volumes.