Saudi East-West Oil Pipeline Faces Three-to-Five-Week Repair

Two regional officials briefed on the damage said repairs to Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline would take three to five weeks after attacks hit key facilities, including a major pumping station. The roughly 1,200-kilometer route carries crude from Gulf ports to Yanbu on the Red Sea, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, and has been moving a weekly average of 2.6 million to 4 million barrels a day since late August. The officials said partial pumping may resume while repairs continue. Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry confirmed multiple attacks in the Riyadh and Medina regions, a precautionary shutdown, injuries and emergency technical work, and authorities blamed drones launched by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.