Saudi Arabian pipeline outage threatens global oil supply

A critical Saudi Arabian pipeline that carries oil to the Red Sea is facing an outage, potentially threatening global oil supplies, according to Saudi oil buyers and traders. If the major pipeline to the Red Sea is not restarted within days, Saudi Arabia could run out of export stocks, resulting in a loss of up to 4 percent of global supply, the traders reported to Reuters on Sunday.

The outage, caused by drone attacks launched from Iraq, has already contributed to the already high global fuel prices, which began rising after the start of the US-Iran war. Following the attacks, Riyadh shut down the East-West oil pipeline on Friday. However, the extent of the damage and the duration of the pipeline's shutdown remain unclear.

According to various sources, the repair work could take anywhere from five to six weeks to complete, while another source suggested that the pipeline could be partially operational while repairs are ongoing. The outcome of these estimates will significantly impact the global oil market.