Saudi Arabia temporarily shut down its critical 1,200-kilometer (746-mile) East-West oil pipeline on Friday, September 11, 2026. The emergency closure followed a series of drone strikes that struck the Riyadh and Medina areas.
Pipeline Shutdown Halts Millions of Barrels
The disruption cuts off a vital conduit stretching from the Abqaiq oilfield in the east to the Yanbu port on the Red Sea. The pipeline carries between 3 million and 4 million barrels per day of Saudi crude exports.
Cross-Border Attacks Trace Back to Iraq
According to the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, the drone attacks originated from the southeastern Iraqi province of Maysan. Video footage from the region showed plumes of smoke rising from a section of the pipeline, and equipment used to operate the conduit was also hit. No group has claimed responsibility for the strikes so far.
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Wolfgang Pusztai, a security policy and defence analyst cited by Al Jazeera, stated that the drone strikes were most likely carried out by one of Iraq’s numerous Iran-backed armed groups under orders from Tehran. Pusztai noted that the attacks are intended to support Houthi war objectives in Yemen by pressuring Saudi Arabia to withdraw. Simultaneously, the pipeline closure reinforces Iran’s ongoing blockade over the Strait of Hormuz, signaling that Tehran will not allow the kingdom to bypass the chokepoint.
Global Markets Absorb Severe Supply Shocks
The pipeline closure compounds severe supply constraints already facing global markets. Saudi Arabia’s crude production fell to 6.24 million barrels per day in August, a drop of 1.9 million barrels per day from July and the lowest output level since 1990, driven largely by export route disruptions.
Benchmark ICE Brent traded at $105 per barrel. Available Middle Eastern grades such as Murban and Oman surged to $120 per barrel.
Baghdad Orders Urgent Security Crackdown
In response to the incident, the Iraqi government formally condemned the attack, stating it does not accept its territory being used as a launchpad against any nation. Prime Minister al-Zaidi ordered an investigation into the Maysan operations command, dismissed its commander, and took steps to initiate legal action against anyone found involved.
Additionally, security sources reported that Iraq closed the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iran as a precautionary measure.
Riyadh Holds Military Response at Bay
The Saudi Ministry of Energy confirmed that majority state-owned operator Saudi Aramco shut down the pipeline as a precaution while specialized teams secure the route and assess safety.
While the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Riyadh would hold off on responding at this stage at the request of the Iraqi prime minister, the kingdom’s diplomatic position remains under intense scrutiny as regional energy security hangs in the balance.
