"The East-West pipeline was attacked again yesterday," a source working in the kingdom’s energy sector told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Monday. "A pumping station east of Riyadh in Khurais. It wasn’t targeted before. There was big damage and the pipeline stopped again."
However, follow-up reports were quick to note that the some 745-mile pipeline between Saudi Arabia's main oil fields in the east and the Yanbu terminal on the Red Sea are already back to operating normally and that flows are continuing.
AFP ImageBloomberg reports Monday, "Oil continues to flow through the East-West link, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information" - while confirming that the conduit was briefly halted over the weekend due to attack.
The East-West pipeline has been targeted several times after renewed Houthi-Saudi fighting over prior weeks, and such attacks could continue given that fighting has only intensified in neighboring Yemen.
The Saudi-backed government there over the weekend announced a "new phase in the battle to restore the state." Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani wrote on X that the Saudi-backed military operation aims to "extend authority … over every inch of Yemen’s land."
"The recovery of land, islands, and strategic positions in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait … directly contributes to safeguarding one of the world's most vital maritime passages and securing international trade and navigation, after the Houthi mili
