As markets await Saudi Aramco's announcement of its financial results for the third quarter of 2026 on Tuesday, the repercussions of the US-Israeli war on Iran stand out as one of the most prominent factors that tested the company's ability to maintain its operations and the flow of its supplies to global markets.
Despite the attacks that targeted oil facilities and the disturbances witnessed in the movement of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since the outbreak of war on February 28, the company continued to rely on a system of infrastructure and operational alternatives that it developed over decades, which included pipelines, alternative export ports, and international stocks, in addition to accelerating the repair of damaged facilities and securing maintenance supplies locally.
At the forefront of these alternatives is the “East-West” pipeline, which transports crude from the eastern region to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, and provides an outlet for oil exports when navigation through the strait is disrupted.
The importance of this path is due to prior planning to diversify export outlets, which was stressed by the Saudi Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, during the “International Petroleum Conference” in October 2026, when he stressed the necessity of providing alternatives before crises occur, pointing to the role of strategic infrastructure in enhancing the security of energy supplies.
In parallel with these alternatives, Aramco strengthened its procedures to deal with attacks and unrest, by accelerating the repair of damaged facilities, securing maintenance materials and spare parts locally, and benefiting from crude stocks inside and outside the Kingdom.
The company is also studying additional options for transporting oil away from sea lanes that are vulnerable to disruption, thus expanding the range of alternatives available to it.
These measures gain special importance in light of the repercussions of the war that broke out on February 28, 2026, and spread to oil facilities in the Gulf, in conjunction with the disruption of shipping movement through the Strait of Hormuz, and escalating concerns about the continuity of supplies to global markets.
Aramco facilities were among the facilities affected by the attacks. Two days after the outbreak of the war, the Ras Tanura refinery was attacked by two intercepted drones, and their wreckage led to a fire and limited damage, without affecting the supply of petroleum products to the local market.
In the face of these risks, the company focused on accelerating damage repair and restoring operation, in parallel with ensuring the continued flow of oil to the markets.
In an interview with Reuters published on October 15, Aramco’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Engineer Amin Nasser, revealed some of these preparations, which included using drones to assess damage, secure repair materials, and prepare specialized teams to deal with multiple incidents at the same time.
Aramco has strengthened its capabilities to respond to accidents and accelerate the repair of damaged facilities, through an emergency system that includes specialized teams, stocks of repair materials and spare parts, and tools to assess damage and determine technical needs.
Al-Nasser explained that Aramco developed specialized teams for rapid response following the attacks that targeted the Abqaiq oil processing facility in 2019, and has worked since then to enhance its readiness to deal with incidents, including simultaneous ones.
The company produces locally or maintains in its warehouses about 90 percent of the materials needed for repair, which reduces dependence on imports and accelerates the restoration of operation, according to Al-Nasser.
According to Al-Nasser, Aramco’s response speed is more than six times the average speed recorded in the sector, which allows the resumption of operation of the affected facilities within days in many cases.
The emergency system is not limited to repairing facilities, but also includes business continuity plans and making use of local and international stocks, in addition to multiple routes for transporting and exporting crude, which helps the company to continue supplies despite production and shipping disruptions.
With the increasing reliance on the “East-West” pipeline to overcome the disruption of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, its role has emerged as a major corridor for transporting oil from the eastern region to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, and from there to global markets.
But this path was not immune to the repercussions of the war. One of its pumping stations was attacked in April, reducing flows by about 700,000 barrels per day.
On April 12, the Ministry of Energy announced that the line had restored its full operational capacity, amounting to about seven million barrels per day.
The idea of establishing the line goes back to the early 1980s, during the Iraq-Iran war, when Saudi Arabia decided, under the guidance of King Fahd bin Abdulaziz, to diversify oil export outlets in anticipation of disruption to navigation in the Gulf.
In 1995, its capacity was raised to about five million barrels per day, according to what was presented by the Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, during the “International Petroleum Conference” in October 2026.
On April 9, the Ministry of Energy announced that targeting the pumping station led to a decrease in flows through the line by about 700,000 barrels per day. The attacks also caused a decline in the production of the Manifa field by about 300,000 barrels per day, in addition to similar effects in the Khurais field.
But after only three days, the Ministry announced the restoration of the full pumping capacity of the “East-West” line, in addition to restoring the affected quantities of production from the Manifa field, explaining that work is still underway to restore the affected production capacity in the Khurais field.
The test was renewed in September, when the line was stopped as a precaution to verify its safety following a new attack.
The Minister of Energy said on October 6 that its use had resumed within five to six days, with flows reaching about 5.8 million barrels per day, compared to its maximum capacity of seven million barrels per day.
These developments reflect the importance of quickly repairing pumping stations and restoring operation, at a time when there is increased reliance on export routes through the Red Sea to compensate for navigation disturbances in the Strait of Hormuz.
Aramco said in announcing the results of the first quarter of 2026 that it had activated business continuity plans to deal with the repercussions of the war, benefiting from the “East-West” pipeline and local and international storage capacities, in addition to the diversity of its assets and infrastructure.
In a speech he delivered in London on October 5, Al-Nasser said that the company’s flexibility is also based on global strategic reserves, excess production capacity, multiple grades of crude, local gas reserves, and the “offshore” tanker fleet.
Facilities equipment also includes backup equipment and separation of vital facilities to reduce the impact of malfunctions.
In addition to enhancing the efficiency of existing infrastructure, Aramco is studying additional options for transporting oil to global markets, with the aim of reducing dependence on sea lanes that are vulnerable to disruption, most notably the Strait of Hormuz, Bab al-Mandab, and the Suez Canal.
Al-Nasser said that the company is examining alternative paths, without revealing their details, explaining that it will announce them if a final decision is taken regarding them.
This coincides with a Saudi trend to expand the capacity of transporting oil via pipelines.
In statements during October, the Minister of Energy spoke about aiming to raise the capacity of pipeline oil export routes to ten million barrels per day, as part of efforts aimed at enhancing supply security.
Diversifying crude transportation options allows exports to be redirected when some routes are disrupted, and reduces dependence on vital sea lanes, while expanding the pipeline network adds another level of preparedness to confront supply disruptions.
Also, options for managing supplies during crises are not limited to changing transportation routes; Storage outside the Kingdom allows quantities of crude to be kept close to consuming markets, providing greater flexibility in meeting customer needs when shipping routes are disrupted or tankers are delayed in arriving.
Saudi Aramco seeks to expand these options, in its latest steps, through a preliminary understanding with Singapore.
On October 26, Saudi Arabia and Singapore announced that they had reached a preliminary understanding to store Saudi crude oil in the Jurong Rock Caves on Jurong Island in Singapore.
The facility is located underground at a depth of about 150 metres, and its total capacity is approximately nine million barrels of hydrocarbon liquids.
It is expected to begin storing Saudi crude during the second half of 2027.
Singapore is not the company's only international storage point; Aramco has storage arrangements in Okinawa and Kerry in Japan, Ulsan in South Korea, and Rotterdam in the Netherlands, in addition to facilities linked to the SUMED pipeline system in Egypt.
These locations allow crude to be kept close to consumption centers, and provide additional options to meet customer demand when shipping traffic is disrupted.
Some storage arrangements also include giving host countries priority to purchase crude in emergency situations, which adds another dimension to the role of these facilities in managing supplies during crises.
In conclusion, this system reveals that Aramco’s readiness to confront supply disruptions does not depend on a single export route or single operational tool, but rather on the integration of pipelines, stocks, transportation alternatives, and the speed of repairing facilities.
With the announcement of the third quarter results, the company's ability to maintain operating levels and the flow of exports in light of the war will be one of the most prominent aspects to which investors will turn their attention, in addition to the impact of price fluctuations and the costs of dealing with the crisis on its financial performance.
