Saudi Arabia has started exporting oil using its East-West pipeline after the link was repaired following drone strikes earlier this month, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Flows through the line have reached about 3.5 million barrels a day, another person said. Both asked not to be named because the information isn’t public. The pipeline has a total capacity of about 7 million a day, with about 5 million typically earmarked for exports.
Aramco and the Saudi energy ministry didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The resumption will restore Saudi Arabia’s access to the alternative export route that it had been using during the Iran war, even as the kingdom has ramped up shipments through the Strait of Hormuz this month.
It will bring relief to buyers who have been clamoring for supply, with some customers in Europe being told they won’t be allocated any barrels next month under term contracts.
Of the pipeline’s 7 million barrels a day capacity, about 2 million a day generally goes to refineries along the kingdom’s west coast and the remainder is available for exports. Those overseas shipments had become a lifeline for the market during the Iran war, helping keep oil-price surges in check.
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