Satellite Photos Reveal Damage from Drone Attack on Saudi Oil Pipeline

Satellite photos show the extent of the damage caused by a drone attack on Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline, a highly strategic network that transports crude oil from Abqaiq on the kingdom's eastern Gulf coast to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea.

The images, released by Vantor and published via Getty Images on Sunday, show a bird's-eye view of fire damage and extensive blackened areas in and around a pumping station on the pipeline.

Saudi Arabia on Friday temporarily closed the roughly 750-mile system, or Petroline, as a precautionary measure following multiple attacks by drones launched from Iraq. Several people were injured in the attacks, the Saudi government said, with drones targeting a key stretch of the pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions.

OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia has relied on the East-West pipeline to shift crude exports away from the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz as fighting continues between the U.S. and Iran. The East-West pipeline is estimated to have a total design capacity of 7 million barrels per day, following recent expansions.

The pipeline's closure comes as Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have ramped up attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia and launched a lightning ground offensive to exercise control of another critically important oil choke point on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula: the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

There are concerns that the Houthis' advance toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait could have significant ramifications for energy markets and global trade, particularly if the militant group ratchets up threats or attacks on Red Sea shipping.