Two pumping stations serving the vital East-West Pipeline in Saudi Arabia were damaged in an attack last week, with a repair timeline unclear, according to assessments from three oil and security sources.
Saudi Aramco, which operates the 1,200 km (745-mile) pipeline running across the Arabian Peninsula, did not respond to a request for comment. Saudi Arabia’s government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The pipeline, which has helped relieve the logjam in the Strait of Hormuz, temporarily shut down on Friday after a drone attack coming from Iraq, Saudi officials have said.
Pumping stations eight and nine were damaged in the strike, the sources said.
The pipeline is serviced by 11 pumping stations and two separate pressure relief stations, according to industry assessments.
The facility has served as the main route out for global supplies of Middle East oil for the past six months while the Strait of Hormuz has been largely shut by war.
It has been moving 4 million to 5 million barrels per day, amounting to 4% to 5% of global supply, sparing Saudi Arabia the brunt of the disruption that has crippled other Gulf oil and gas exporters.
(Reporting by Maha El Dahan and Jonathan Saul; Editing by Alex Richardson)