Saudi Arabia temporarily shuts down key oil pipeline after attacks

Saudi Arabia announced yesterday that it had temporarily shut down an oil pipeline running from the east to the west of the country. The move followed Thursday’s attacks, in which several people were injured. The energy ministry initially did not say who was behind the attacks, but Riyadh said yesterday evening, according to Reuters, that drones launched from Iraq had struck the pipeline. Iraq meanwhile condemned the attacks and ordered an investigation. Saudi Arabia has faced an offensive in recent weeks by Yemen’s pro-Iranian Houthi rebels. Various Iraqi militias support both the rebels and Tehran.

"The pipeline was shut down as a precaution," the energy ministry said.

It added that Thursday morning’s attacks had left several people injured.

The Saudi foreign ministry said the drones that struck the pipeline had flown in from Iraq. In a statement, it said Riyadh would not retaliate for now, at the request of Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, but reserved the right to take the necessary measures to protect its sovereignty, security and critical infrastructure.

Iraq welcomed Saudi Arabia’s decision not to retaliate immediately, Reuters reported, while also condemning the attacks. Baghdad said al-Zaidi had ordered that the attackers be tracked down.

The East-West pipeline runs from oil fields in eastern Saudi Arabia across the country to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea. State-owned Saudi Aramco began using it more extensively in March this year after the US and Israel launched a war against Iran. The move is intended to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, through which around one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies passed before the war and which Iran has been trying to use as leverage against the United States by blockading it since March.

Attacks on Saudi tankers in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthi rebels have intensified in recent weeks. The rebels are fighting the internationally recognized Yemeni government in the country’s civil war, with the government backed by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia. The Houthis appear to have taken control this week of the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Gulf of Aden with the Red Sea and forms part of the shipping route to the Suez Canal, AFP reported.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also discussed the intensifying fighting between Riyadh and the Yemeni rebels with his Saudi counterpart, Reuters reported today. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a defense agreement in the Saudi city of Mecca in early August, pledging to assist one another in the event of an attack.

The Al-Arabiya news website reported today, citing its sources, that US President Donald Trump had spoken several times in recent days with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid the escalation of fighting between Riyadh and the Yemeni rebels, who are allied with Iran. According to Al-Arabiya, Admiral Brad Cooper, head of the US military’s regional command in the Middle East (CENTCOM), also traveled to Saudi Arabia.

Yemeni rebels declared a naval embargo on Saudi ports at the end of July, deterring ship operators from entering the area and reducing Saudi export capacity, the Financial Times (FT) website reported this week.

According to the FT, Saudi oil production fell to its lowest level this year because of attacks from Yemen. In August, Saudi Arabia produced 6.2 million barrels of oil per day, according to data from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), down 23 percent from July.