{ "data_version": "1", "schema": "https://whatledto.com/data", "id": "saudi-arabia", "name": "Saudi Arabia", "kind": "regulator", "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/saudi-arabia", "description": "Holder of most of the world's spare oil capacity and of the largest pipeline route around the Strait of Hormuz.", "same_as": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia" ], "timelines": [ { "slug": "strait-of-hormuz-oil-flows", "title": "Hormuz Disrupted: The Closure, the Reopening That Did Not Hold, and $114 Oil", "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/strait-of-hormuz-oil-flows", "json": "https://whatledto.com/events/strait-of-hormuz-oil-flows.json", "role": "Led the September increase in Gulf crude exports, but its East-West Pipeline disruption helped drive the September price spike.", "entries": 3, "updated_at": "2026-10-16T02:10:55.460976+00:00" }, { "slug": "middle-east-oil-export-routes", "title": "Around the Strait: The Pipelines Gulf Oil Uses When Hormuz Is Shut", "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/middle-east-oil-export-routes", "json": "https://whatledto.com/events/middle-east-oil-export-routes.json", "role": "Country whose crude flows were routed through the East-West Pipeline and whose pipeline was shut after attacks.", "entries": 5, "updated_at": "2026-10-14T14:58:27.422452+00:00" } ], "entries": [ { "timeline": "middle-east-oil-export-routes", "id": 1969, "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/middle-east-oil-export-routes#n1969", "date": "2026-10-06", "date_precision": "day", "title": "Saudi Arabia says Petroline is back to 5.8 million barrels a day, five or six days after the strike on it", "summary": "Energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told a GCC forum panel in Manama that flows through the East-West Pipeline had recovered to 5.8 million barrels a day, and that the line had been back in use within five or six days of the drone strike that hit it the previous month. The figure is an operator statement rather than an observed flow, and it is almost three times what the IEA had recorded running through the line at the start of the year.", "type": "response", "entities": [ "Saudi Arabia", "Abdulaziz bin Salman" ], "parties": [ "saudi-arabia", "abdulaziz-bin-salman" ], "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/6/saudi-arabia-says-east-west-pipeline-pumping-5-8-million-bpd", "outlet": "Al Jazeera", "published": "2026-10-06", "quote": "Not everyone knows that within five or six days, we began using the pipeline again after the major attack that struck it" } ] }, { "timeline": "strait-of-hormuz-oil-flows", "id": 1963, "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/strait-of-hormuz-oil-flows#n1963", "date": "2026-09-22", "date_precision": "day", "title": "East-West Pipeline partially resumes flows after repair", "summary": "Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline was repaired and partially resumed flows as of 22 September. Vortexa ship-tracking data indicated that oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz increased slightly in September as Saudi Arabia used ship-to-ship transfers along Oman's coast.", "type": "shipment", "entities": [ "U.S. Energy Information Administration", "Saudi Arabia", "East-West Pipeline", "Vortexa" ], "parties": [ "us-energy-information-administration", "saudi-arabia", "east-west-pipeline", "vortexa" ], "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/archives/oct26.pdf", "outlet": "EIA", "published": "2026-10-06", "quote": "Daily prices eased somewhat during the last week of September as the East-West pipeline in Saudi Arabia was repaired and partially resumed flows as of September 22." }, { "url": "https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/archives/oct26.pdf", "outlet": "EIA", "published": "2026-10-06", "quote": "Ship tracking data from Vortexa indicates that oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz increased slightly in September as Saudi Arabia increasingly used ship-to-ship transfers along Oman’s coast." } ] }, { "timeline": "strait-of-hormuz-oil-flows", "id": 1962, "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/strait-of-hormuz-oil-flows#n1962", "date": "2026-09-15", "date_precision": "day", "title": "Brent reaches $131 after East-West Pipeline disruption", "summary": "The disruption of Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline led Brent's daily spot price to reach $131 per barrel on 15 September. The IEA also reported that attacks had caused the shutdown of the pipeline.", "type": "other", "entities": [ "U.S. Energy Information Administration", "International Energy Agency", "Saudi Arabia", "East-West Pipeline", "Brent crude" ], "parties": [ "us-energy-information-administration", "international-energy-agency", "saudi-arabia", "east-west-pipeline", "brent-crude" ], "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/archives/oct26.pdf", "outlet": "EIA", "published": "2026-10-06", "quote": "The disruption of the pipeline led to the daily Brent spot price reaching as high as $131/b on September 15, as buyers scrambled to secure near-term supplies due to the loss of Saudi exports." }, { "url": "https://www.iea.org/topics/the-middle-east-and-global-energy-markets", "outlet": "IEA", "published": null, "quote": "Attacks on Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure by Iran-backed groups in both Yemen and Iraq also pose risks, having recently caused the shutdown of Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline, which brought 3.5 million barrels a day of crude exports to global markets in August." } ] }, { "timeline": "strait-of-hormuz-oil-flows", "id": 2167, "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/strait-of-hormuz-oil-flows#n2167", "date": "2026-09", "date_precision": "month", "title": "Gulf producers' crude exports rise to 13.9 million barrels per day", "summary": "The International Energy Agency estimated that crude exports from Gulf producers increased by 4.4 million barrels per day to 13.9 million barrels per day in September. The report said Saudi Arabia led the increase and exports reached over 75% of pre-war levels.", "type": "shipment", "entities": [ "International Energy Agency", "Saudi Arabia" ], "parties": [ "international-energy-agency", "saudi-arabia" ], "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.iea.org/reports/oil-market-report-october-2026", "outlet": "International Energy Agency", "published": "2026-10-14", "quote": "Crude oil exports from Gulf producers, led by Saudi Arabia, surged by 4.4 mb/d to 13.9 mb/d in September, reaching over 75% of pre-war levels as supply recovered strongly and inventories were drawn down." } ] }, { "timeline": "middle-east-oil-export-routes", "id": 1978, "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/middle-east-oil-export-routes#n1978", "date": "2026-09", "date_precision": "month", "title": "Attacks shut the East-West Pipeline in early September, closing the main way around the strait", "summary": "The IEA reported that attacks on the pipeline carrying Saudi crude to Yanbu shut it down in early September, curtailing bypass flows further. For the weeks it was down, the single largest alternative to the Strait of Hormuz was unavailable at the same time as the strait itself.", "type": "delay", "entities": [ "Saudi Arabia", "East-West Pipeline" ], "parties": [ "saudi-arabia", "east-west-pipeline" ], "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.iea.org/commentaries/oil-markets-strain-to-plug-the-gap-left-by-middle-east-supply-shortfall", "outlet": "International Energy Agency", "published": "2026-09-18", "quote": "Attacks on the Saudi East-West pipeline that carries oil to Yanbu resulted in its shutdown in early September, curtailing bypass flows further." } ] }, { "timeline": "middle-east-oil-export-routes", "id": 1975, "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/middle-east-oil-export-routes#n1975", "date": "2026-06", "date_precision": "month", "title": "IEA said Saudi Arabia ramped East-West Pipeline flows for Yanbu exports", "summary": "The International Energy Agency said Saudi Arabia rapidly ramped up crude oil flows through the East-West Pipeline. It said the flows were for export through the Red Sea port of Yanbu.", "type": "shipment", "entities": [ "Saudi Arabia", "East-West Pipeline" ], "parties": [ "saudi-arabia", "east-west-pipeline" ], "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.iea.org/commentaries/how-global-oil-supplies-have-readjusted-to-help-fill-the-huge-gap-left-by-the-strait-of-hormuz-shock", "outlet": "International Energy Agency", "published": "2026-06-22", "quote": "Saudi Arabia rapidly ramped up crude oil flows through its East-West pipeline for export via the Red Sea port of Yanbu." } ] }, { "timeline": "middle-east-oil-export-routes", "id": 1966, "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/middle-east-oil-export-routes#n1966", "date": "2026-02", "date_precision": "month", "title": "Two pipelines, three different numbers each: design capacity, operator claim, and what is actually flowing", "summary": "The UAE's Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline runs 400 km from Habshan to Fujairah with a nameplate of 1.5 million barrels a day and a reported current capacity near 1.8 million; the UAE was already using about 1.1 million of it, leaving room for perhaps 700,000 more. Saudi Arabia's Petroline is two lines from Abqaiq to Yanbu with a design capacity of 5 million barrels a day, which Aramco said in March 2025 it had raised to 7 million — a level the IEA notes has not been tested at sustainable flows. In early 2026 only about 2 million barrels a day of it was in use.", "type": "report", "entities": [ "International Energy Agency", "Saudi Arabia", "Saudi Aramco" ], "parties": [ "international-energy-agency", "saudi-arabia", "saudi-aramco" ], "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.iea.org/about/oil-security-and-emergency-response/strait-of-hormuz", "outlet": "International Energy Agency", "published": "2026-02", "quote": "The system is composed of two lines with a total design capacity of 5 mb/d of crude oil. In March 2025, Aramco reported that it had increased capacity to 7 mb/d, but sustainable flows have not been tested at this level. As of early 2026, it is estimated that about 2 mb/d of the pipeline’s capacity is used, leaving between 3 and 5 mb/d of spare capacity, depending on operational conditions and available export capacity on the Saudi West Coast." } ] }, { "timeline": "middle-east-oil-export-routes", "id": 1965, "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/middle-east-oil-export-routes#n1965", "date": "2026-02", "date_precision": "month", "title": "Twenty million barrels a day go through the strait, and at most five and a half can go around it", "summary": "The IEA's standing assessment of the chokepoint sets the arithmetic this page is about. Nearly 20 million barrels a day of crude and products were exported through the Strait of Hormuz in 2025, around a quarter of the world's seaborne oil trade, and only Saudi Arabia and the UAE have operational crude pipelines that can re-route any of it. The agency put the available bypass capacity at 3.5 to 5.5 million barrels a day, and warned that the logistics of actually moving substantial volumes that way have not been robustly tested.", "type": "report", "entities": [ "International Energy Agency", "Saudi Arabia" ], "parties": [ "international-energy-agency", "saudi-arabia" ], "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.iea.org/about/oil-security-and-emergency-response/strait-of-hormuz", "outlet": "International Energy Agency", "published": "2026-02", "quote": "Only Saudi Arabia and the UAE have operational crude pipelines that could potentially re-route flows to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, with an estimated 3.5 to 5.5 mb/d of available capacity. While additional capacity may exist in major pipelines to bypass the Strait, the logistics and supply chains needed to re-route and export substantial flows have not been robustly tested." } ] } ], "often_with": [ { "id": "iran", "name": "Iran", "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/iran", "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/iran.json", "shared_timelines": 2 }, { "id": "islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps", "name": "Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps", "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps", "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps.json", "shared_timelines": 2 }, { "id": "international-energy-agency", "name": "International Energy Agency", "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/international-energy-agency", "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/international-energy-agency.json", "shared_timelines": 2 }, { "id": "us-energy-information-administration", "name": "U.S. Energy Information Administration", "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/us-energy-information-administration", "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/us-energy-information-administration.json", "shared_timelines": 2 }, { "id": "us-department-of-the-treasury", "name": "U.S. Department of the Treasury", "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/us-department-of-the-treasury", "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/us-department-of-the-treasury.json", "shared_timelines": 1 }, { "id": "us-government", "name": "U.S. government", "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/us-government", "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/us-government.json", "shared_timelines": 1 }, { "id": "united-states", "name": "United States", "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/united-states", "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/united-states.json", "shared_timelines": 1 }, { "id": "tristan-abbey", "name": "Tristan Abbey", "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/tristan-abbey", "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/tristan-abbey.json", "shared_timelines": 1 } ], "license": { "holder": "What Led To", "terms": "https://whatledto.com/methodology#reuse", "summary": "Quote entries with attribution and a link to the entry; do not republish whole timelines or train models on the text." } }