Drone attacks and the Houthi advance have shut down Petroline, a key alternative to the Strait of Hormuz for Saudi crude exports.
What the Saudi Arabia oil pipeline shutdown means for oil supply
Amid the conflict in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline had become a crucial alternative for transporting the Kingdom’s crude oil to global markets. The pipeline was shut down on September 11 after a series of drone attacks launched from Iraq. The strikes have removed one of Saudi Arabia’s main alternatives for bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
Built in the 1980s and stretching for 1,200 km, the pipeline is also known as Petroline. It carries crude from Saudi oil fields in the east of the country to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea.
The pipeline has a maximum capacity of around 7 million barrels per day and had become increasingly important since the Middle East conflict disrupted navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia had increased westward crude flows through the pipeline to nearly 4 million barrels per day, equivalent to around 4% of global supply, according to the IEA. A year earlier, volumes stood at around 973,000 barrels per day.
Until now, the pipeline had served as an emergency route, allowing the world’s largest oil exporter to maintain part of its exports even when traditional routes through the Persian Gulf became inaccessible. In September 2025, before the attacks, Saudi Arabia produced almost 10 million barrels of oil per day, but by August production had fallen to 6 million barrels per day, according to the IEA.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is recovering but remains well below the levels recorded before the conflict began in February. Lloyd’s List Intelligence recorded 90 transits during the first week of September. Before the war, around 130 vessels passed through the strait each day.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels strengthen control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait
The situation has become more complex as Yemen’s Houthi rebels have strengthened their control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, also known as Bab al-Mandeb, the waterway connecting the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea and, ultimately, the Suez Canal.
Fighting against Yemen’s internationally recognised, Saudi-backed government, the group last week seized the section of Yemen’s coastline facing the Red Sea, including the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which had emerged as an alternative to Hormuz following the conflict between the United States and Iran.
In recent months, attention had returned to Bab al-Mandeb, its importance for international oil trade and its vulnerability. The strait is also particularly significant for trade routes connecting the Middle East, the Red Sea and markets across Africa and beyond.
Analysts at Melius Research said that at the beginning of September an average of around 3 million barrels of oil per day was passing through Bab el-Mandeb. This week, however, they said that figure could now be zero.
Because of Houthi attacks, most Saudi traffic heading from Yanbu has been diverted north towards the Mediterranean, either through the Suez Canal or via Egypt’s SUMED pipeline. However, the Houthis have also begun targeting Saudi shipping further north.
The group seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014 at the start of the civil war, forcing the government to relocate to Aden in the south of the country. The following year, Saudi Arabia led an international coalition in support of the Yemeni government and carried out a series of air strikes. Meanwhile, Yemen descended into one of the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophes.
The latest offensive has reignited hostilities in a war that was never formally ended but appeared to have subsided following the UN-mediated truce in 2022. The group reportedly used the four-year period to strengthen itself and expand its missile and drone capabilities.
Tehran has long supported the Houthis as part of its opposition to Israel and supplies the group with weapons and military technology. However, the rebels also pursue their own objectives. It now remains unclear what they intend to do with Bab al-Mandeb.
Some analysts say that since the Houthis began attacking ships in the Red Sea in 2023, they may have extracted illicit payments from some shipping agencies in exchange for safe passage.
Saudi Arabia seeks guarantees from Egypt
Mirette Mabrouk, an expert at the Middle East Institute, told France 24 that Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is reportedly seeking guarantees from Egypt that it will intervene to protect Bab al-Mandeb.
Mabrouk added that Egypt, whose Suez Canal route is under threat because of the Houthis, “will fight if necessary, but that is not the default position”.
“The default position,” she continued, “is to pursue every other option before getting to that point”.
