A key oil pipeline used by Saudi Arabia to transport crude to the Red Sea in circumvention of the Strait of Hormuz has been attacked, three separate news outlets reported Wednesday.
A pumping station located along the 1,200 kilometer East-West pipeline was targeted at around 1 p.m. local time on Wednesday afternoon, two sources told the Financial Times. One of the sources told the newspaper that the pipeline was attacked by a drone.
An industry source told Reuters that the flow of oil through the pipeline, which is owned and operated by Aramco, is expected to be affected by the attack, although the extent of the damage was still being assessed.
Bloomberg also reported the pipeline had been hit by a drone attack, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Saudi officials didn’t immediately respond to a CNN request for comment. The Saudi defense ministry said it had intercepted nine drones earlier Wednesday, but did not specify where.
CNN has reached out to Aramco for comment.
Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline is one of two out of the region that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, where the war in Iran has caused significant trade disruption. Transporting crude across the country connecting Abqaiq, an oil field near the eastern gulf coast, with the Red Sea port of Yanbu, the pipeline has become a crucial part of the nation’s oil export trade since the effective shuttering of Hormuz.
The pipeline has been operating at full capacity, rerouting around 7 million barrels per day to Saudi’s Yanbu port, Reuters reported.
CNN reported last month on the increased traffic moving through Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea ports amid disruption to the Strait of Hormuz.
CNN’s Nic Robertson gained exclusive access to the country’s Jeddah port, where Saudi authorities said they expected to see an increase in cargo traffic of around 50% moving through the port to reach Gulf nations.