KARACHI: Saudi crude shipments to Pakistan through the Red Sea have resumed after drone attacks halted a key pipeline, easing shortage fears as regional conflict disrupts the country’s main Middle Eastern supply routes.
Saudi Arabia restarted its East-West Pipeline, which carries crude from oilfields in the Kingdom’s east to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, after attacks forced its closure on Sept 13 and halted loadings at the export terminal.
The route allows Saudi crude to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has been severely disrupted since war involving the United States, Israel and Iran erupted in February. From Yanbu, tankers bound for Pakistan sail south through the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab Strait before entering the Arabian Sea.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that the East-West Pipeline had restarted at a reduced rate, with work underway to restore flows to their previous level of about 4 million barrels per day, equivalent to roughly four percent of global oil supply.
News of the restart helped push benchmark Brent crude down by more than $2 to around $98 a barrel on Tuesday, its lowest level in two weeks, although prices remain elevated amid continuing disruption across the Middle East.
