Saudi oil pipeline hit in strikes will be mostly out of service for several weeks

A crucial Saudi oil pipeline that was struck in an attack last week will mostly be out of service for weeks as the damage is repaired, two regional officials tell the Associated Press, as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized more islands dominating key Red Sea shipping routes in new blows to Saudi Arabia’s oil exports.

The developments further strain Saudi Arabia’s effort to get its oil to market while avoiding the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint at the mouth of the Persian Gulf where Iranian attacks have stifled shipping.

The kingdom relies on the East-West Pipeline, which runs the breadth of the country, to move its crude production from Gulf ports to ports on its western, Red Sea coast. From there it can be put on tankers for export.

An attack that Saudi Arabia blamed on drones from Iranian-backed militias in Iraq forced the shutdown of the 1,200-kilometer (745-mile) pipeline on Thursday.

The officials, who have been briefed on the matter, say repairing the damage could take three to five weeks, including at a major pumping facility. One of the officials says the line may work partially while teams carry out the repairs. The pipeline has a total capacity to carry up to 7 million barrels of oil a day.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to brief the media.

The Saudi oil company Aramco, which operates the pipeline, does not immediately respond to a request for comment. The government-run Center for International Communication, which oversees foreign media in the kingdom, says it is looking into an AP inquiry about how long it will take to repair the pipeline.

The Houthis captured the strategic islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish, government and Houthi officials say. The islands lie 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The strait is a choke point that connects the Red Sea to the open ocean and Saudi Arabia’s key Asian markets.