Saudi east-west pipeline closure disrupts crude flows to Yanbu, expert says

SANAA, Sept. 13 (YPA) – Oil shipments from Saudi Arabia’s western port of Yanbu could face severe disruptions following the confirmed shutdown of the kingdom’s East-West crude pipeline, according to a natural resources expert.

Abdulghani Jaghman, a geological expert and consultant in oil and gas resource development, stated that tracking data from energy analytics platforms “Kpler” and “Vortexa” showed “zero barrels” in newly published loading metrics for Yanbu following the reported closure of the East-West pipeline system.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Jaghman noted that the closure directly cuts off new crude supplies flowing to the Red Sea terminal.

“The shutdown of the line itself means that new flows to Yanbu have suffered a direct interruption,” Jaghman said. “If the closure persists, loadings will temporarily rely on existing storage in Yanbu’s tanks, and are expected to drop sharply once those reserves are depleted.”

Jaghman highlighted that the situation has escalated from a potential risk to a confirmed disruption of the pipeline itself, raising questions regarding the extent of the damage, the duration of the operational halt, and the available buffer capacity at Yanbu’s storage facilities.

“If upcoming vessel tracking data shows loadings dropping from the standard range of 2.9 to 3.7 million barrels per day (bpd) to levels near or below 1 million bpd, it will serve as direct evidence that the operational impact has transmitted from infrastructure to actual export volumes,” he added.

YPA