"The continued closure of a critical pipeline in Saudi Arabia risks keeping 4 percent of the world’s oil supply from reaching international markets and driving energy prices even higher.
Saudi Arabia scrambled this week to reroute roughly four million barrels of oil a day when it temporarily shut its East-West pipeline, which it said on Friday was damaged by an Iran-backed militia. The pipeline, a 750-mile network that transports crude across Saudi Arabia to ports on the Red Sea, had been the kingdom’s primary way of exporting oil since the war in Iran began in February.
And there are scant signs that the threat to Saudi oil supplies will ease anytime soon. In addition to the drone attack on the pipeline, the Iranian-backed Houthi rebel group in Yemen gained control of a strategic Red Sea port and hit energy facilities in Saudi Arabia. On Wednesday the Houthis claimed they had downed a Saudi fighter jet, as Saudi Arabia said the Houthis had fired a drone near the Muslim holy city of Mecca."
Lisa Friedman reports for the New York Times September 16, 2026.
