Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline kept operating after an attack caused a limited fire in western Medina on Monday, Nov. 9, maintaining the kingdom’s route to Red Sea exports, the Ministry of Energy said.
The ministry reported no deaths or injuries and said the incident did not interrupt operations. It did not identify who carried out the attack. Emergency response teams and technical specialists began work afterward and took steps to secure the area, the ministry said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
The pipeline carries oil to Yanbu on the Red Sea, offering Saudi Arabia a route that avoids the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said it carried more than 5 million barrels per day before September’s attacks disrupted flows.
After attacks in the Riyadh and Medina regions on Sept. 10, the ministry said on Sept. 11 that it had halted the pipeline as a precaution and reported injuries without giving a count. The Associated Press reported that three pumping stations were hit and oil flow was interrupted. EconoTimes previously covered the earlier pipeline shutdown.
