Saudi Arabia shut down a key oil pipeline. It served as a bypass route for the Strait of Hormuz.

Due to attacks by forces allied with Iran, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Energy has shut down the country’s most important oil pipeline—the “East-West” pipeline, also known as Petroline—as a precautionary measure. This 1,200-kilometer pipeline runs across the entire Arabian Peninsula through Saudi Arabian territory—from the Abqaiq oil field to Yanbu on the Red Sea. During the war in the Middle East, it served as an alternative route for oil shipments from the kingdom when tanker passage through the Strait of Hormuz became difficult, according to Bloomberg and CNBC.

According to the Saudi ministry, the oil pipeline had been shut down the day before, on Thursday. On the same day, CNN, citing two unnamed U.S. officials, reported that Petroline had been struck by an unidentified projectile. The Ministry of Energy confirmed the incident: several people were injured as a result of the attacks, the ministry said in X. Emergency crews are now on site; they are taking measures to ensure the pipeline’s safety and assessing its condition.

CNN reported yesterday that, following the attacks, fires broke out at two pumping stations located near the pipeline. This information was also corroborated by satellite images of the scene.

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