Saudi oil pipeline shut down after attack triggers fires
A satellite image shows a small fire burning at a pumping station near Al Dhekra
(CNN) — A key oil pipeline system in Saudi Arabia was struck by projectiles on Thursday, according to two US officials familiar with the matter.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy said in a statement posted to its website Friday that the pipeline had been attacked and “was shut down as a precautionary measure.”
An early analysis found that pump stations, which are located next to the pipeline itself, were hit, one of the US officials said. A satellite image taken Friday appears to show extensive fire damage at one pumping station, and an image of a different pumping station, taken Thursday, showed a small fire sending up plumes of thick, black smoke.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the strikes or if sections of the pipeline itself were damaged but one of the officials said it was struck by drones originating from Iraq.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs later released a statement condemning “the attack on the East-West Pipeline in the Riyadh and Madinah regions by several drones coming from Iraq, which resulted in injuries and some damage that is currently being addressed.”
“The Kingdom clarifies that, based on a request from the Iraqi Prime Minister to give the brotherly Iraqi government the opportunity to take the necessary measures to prevent attacks launched from Iraqi territory against the Kingdom and neighboring countries, the Kingdom has chosen not to respond at this stage, in support of the Iraqi government’s efforts,” the statement said.
The strike signals that the kingdom’s oil resources — and its ability to export those resources — are facing increasing threats as the Iran War continues. The attacks on the pipeline come within days of an Iranian-aligned militia’s seizure of a strategic Red Sea port city in Yemen that could further threaten energy shipping in the region.
It was not immediately clear how long it would take to repair the damage to the pipeline system, sources said.
The Ministry of Energy statement said that the pipeline “was subjected to multiple attacks” on Thursday that “resulted in a number of injuries.” The statement added that teams were “taking the necessary measures to secure the pipeline and assess its safety.”
The Iraqi government put out a statement later Friday condemning the attacks, saying it had ordered an urgent investigation into those responsible and said it will not allow its territory or airspace to be used for attacks.
“The Iraqi government condemns the attacks that targeted the brotherly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and affirms its rejection of any attack that undermines the Kingdom’s security and stability or harms the deep-rooted fraternal relations between the two countries.” the statement carried by state-run news agency INA said.
This week oil prices surged past $100 a barrel amid sharp swings driven by events in the Middle East.
The Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco did not respond to a request for comment. The State Department and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. US Central Command declined to comment on the incident.
US officials have been working to collect intelligence on the incident, according to a source familiar.
Though the source of the attack was unclear, Iran-allied militia groups in Iraq have used drones in the past to attack Saudi Arabia, according to Behnam Ben Taleblu, Iran program senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), and may have done so again amid a broader Iranian strategy to use its proxies to push Arab nations to reject American forces in the region.
In late July, Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman met with US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance in Washington, DC, to convey the Kingdom’s assessment on the ongoing US war with Iran – that Iran would seek to create leverage through escalation and would try to make use of its remaining proxies – militias in Iraq and the Houthis – to do so, sources told CNN.
Satellites detected nine large fires burning close to Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline on Thursday, though the locations of at least six of the fires appeared to correspond to flare pits, where oil and gas can be burned off in the event of an emergency.
The pipeline has become key to Saudi Arabia since the outbreak of the US-Iran war. The kingdom has rerouted about 5 million barrels of oil per day that would have been destined for awaiting oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, as Iran effectively shuttered the Strait of Hormuz. Instead, that oil has traveled through its East-West pipeline to its port of Yanbu on the Red Sea.
With Houthi fighters declaring they would target any Saudi ships attempting to pass through Bab al-Mandeb out of the Red Sea, that outlet for the kingdom’s oil could also be at risk.
Repairing pump stations could be less burdensome than repairing major damage to the pipeline itself, said US officials and experts.
The strike on the pipeline system also comes as Saudi Arabia reported to OPEC that its production of crude oil plunged last month, sinking to the lowest levels since 1990.
CNN’s Jennifer Hansler and Nadeen Ebrahim contributed to this report.
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