Saudi Arabia says its East-West Pipeline is shut
A Saudi energy ministry source said on September 11 that the East-West Pipeline had been 'subjected to multiple attacks' on the morning of September 10. It was shut 'as a precautionary measure', according to the statement, which the Saudi state news agency SPA carried. The statement mentioned injuries and named no attacker. The line carries crude about 1,200 kilometres from the Persian Gulf coast to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, avoiding the Strait of Hormuz. The same day the International Energy Agency put August's Gulf oil exports at around 13 million barrels a day, nearly half the prewar level.
Why this matters
The pipeline let Saudi Arabia export without the Strait of Hormuz, and the Red Sea it leads to is contested as well. Yemen's Houthi forces, which Reuters describes as aligned with Iran, hold part of that coast. They said on September 11, through the Houthi-run news agency Saba, that Saudi vessels were 'subject to a blockade'.
Explore the claims
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Follow an assertion into its evidence, qualifications and open questions.
Gulf oil exports in August 2026 were around 13 million barrels a day, nearly half their prewar level, the International Energy Agency estimates. Before the war about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passed through the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reported. The agency credits the remaining flow partly to routes that bypass the strait and to US military escorts through it.
How much oil still leaves the Persian Gulf? → Reported observation Statement documented. The source records what was said or reported. It does not verify the claim itself.Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline has been shut since attacks on September 10, 2026, and no restart date has been given. The Saudi statement blames no one for the attacks. Reuters, citing trade sources, reported on September 15 that loadings at the Red Sea port of Yanbu were suspended and late-September cargoes to Europe cancelled.
A pipeline that never leaves Saudi Arabia was shut. Why did buyers in Europe lose cargoes? → See all 2 claims from this moment →How it was reported
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Collected news coverage of this moment. Publication dates can differ from the event date. Missing ratings do not mean neutral.
Reuters
News report
Some physical oil cargoes top $130 a barrel, nearing April's record, on Saudi disruptions
By Robert Harvey
www.reuters.comRead original article (opens in a new tab)
ABC News (Australia), with Reuters
News report
Houthis advance along Yemeni coast, threaten Saudi oil exports in Red Sea
www.abc.net.auRead original article (opens in a new tab)
Sources behind this moment
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This is the source trail for the explanation and claims, including records, statements and reporting.
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Radio-Canada / CBC
Analysis
Canada's oil windfall may yet wipe out its losses from tariffs
ici.radio-canada.caRead original source (opens in a new tab)
Sections on the Bab al-Mandab strait and the pipeline, and on oil revenue in Canada
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Statistics Canada
Official record
The Daily: Consumer Price Index, July 2026
www150.statcan.gc.caRead original source (opens in a new tab)
Headline CPI and gasoline paragraphs
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Bank of Canada
Official record
Monetary Policy Decision Press Conference Opening Statement
www.bankofcanada.caRead original source (opens in a new tab)
Paragraphs on oil prices, the Strait of Hormuz and what monetary policy can do