Saudi Arabia: Oil pipeline was targeted

In a written statement made by the Ministry of Energy of Saudi Arabia, it was reported that there was an attack on the East-West Oil Pipeline passing within the borders of Medina.

It was stated in the statement that a limited-scale fire broke out on the line due to the attack, and that the fire was completely extinguished with timely intervention.

While it was emphasized that there was no loss of life or injury in the incident, it was noted that the oil flow and general activities in the pipeline were not affected by the attack.

It was stated that emergency response and expert technical teams started working in the field immediately after the incident, and emergency plans and security procedures were fully implemented in order to ensure regional security and complete the necessary technical controls.

East-West Pipeline

The East-West Pipeline, one of Saudi Arabia's most important oil transportation lines, has been repeatedly targeted by Iran's attacks on Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, in retaliation for US attacks, and the oil flow on the line has stopped from time to time.

The East-West Pipeline stretches approximately 1,200 kilometers from the city of Bukayk in the east of the country to Yanbu Port on the Red Sea coast in the west. The line has a daily transportation capacity of approximately 7 million barrels.

In the face of the disruption of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz due to the US-Iran war, the line in question provides an alternative route via land to transport oil from the east of Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea ports. Thus, it allows some of the crude oil to be exported without passing through the Bosphorus.

Shipment disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz due to the escalating hot conflicts between the USA and Iran shook the global energy markets.

Since the disruption of the oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz, it was reported in the press that Aramco used the line in question to direct approximately 4 million barrels of crude oil per day to Yanbu.

*Photo: AP, representative