East-West Crude Oil Pipeline

The East-West Crude Oil Pipeline (Petroline) is Saudi Arabia’s 1,200km crude oil pipeline connecting eastern oil fields to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, with capacity of up to 5 million barrels/day. During the 2026 Hormuz crisis, Saudi Arabia increasingly diverted crude through Yanbu to bypass the closed strait. Combined with the UAE’s Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline to Fujairah (~1.5M bbl/day), total bypass pipeline capacity reached roughly 9 million barrels/day — less than half the 20M bbl/day that normally transits Hormuz. Oil loading at Fujairah was also disrupted by drone strikes during the crisis.

Connections

• Strait of Hormuz — bypass alternative
• Shipping Disruption — partial mitigation
• Oil Price Impact — limited the price impact at the margin