Saudi Arabia’s Main Hormuz Bypass Oil Pipeline Possibly Struck

A large and persistent fire has been detected along Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline corridor, raising the prospect of a strike on the kingdom’s main crude export route for bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.

Satellite imagery circulated on September 10 showed a dark smoke plume stretching close to 100 km southeast of Medina, while NASA fire data recorded sustained clusters of intense thermal activity in the same area.

No Saudi authority had confirmed damage to the pipeline, a rupture, or any reduction in crude flows as of Friday morning.

Unusual Thermal Activity

Sentinel-3, NOAA-20 and MODIS imagery showed smoke over the desert along the pipeline corridor toward Mahd adh-Dhahab.

NASA FIRMS data recorded multiple thermal anomalies across a stretch of less than 10 km. Fire radiative power exceeded 70 MW at several points and persisted for hours.

Unofficial assessments said the intensity and duration appeared substantially higher than routine flaring.

Some analysts cited six to eight possible impact points and raised the possibility of a pressure loss or rupture.

FIRMS data, however, identifies heat sources rather than their cause. It cannot establish whether the pipeline itself was hit, what was burning, or who was responsible.

The reported activity was concentrated near coordinates around 23.94–23.98°N and 40.03–40.23°E, an area aligned with the known pipeline route.

Saudi Arabia’s Main Hormuz Bypass

The East-West Pipeline, also known as Petroline, runs about 1,200 km from processing facilities around Abqaiq in eastern Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.

Its strategic purpose is to move Saudi crude westward without using the Strait of Hormuz.

Capacity was increased to about 7mn barrels a day in 2026 after parallel natural gas liquids lines were converted to crude service.

The route has been carrying roughly 5mn bpd of exportable crude toward Yanbu as shipping through Hormuz has faced severe constraints during the broader U.S.-Iran conflict.

A sustained disruption would therefore threaten the kingdom’s principal high-volume alternative to Hormuz.

Pressure at Both Ends of the Route

The possible incident comes as the Red Sea side of Saudi Arabia’s export system is also facing growing pressure.

Houthi forces seized the Yemeni Red Sea port of Mokha on Thursday and continued advancing toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, about 75 km farther south.

That puts pressure on the maritime route connected to the same Red Sea export corridor supplied by Petroline.

A confirmed pipeline disruption would therefore leave both of Saudi Arabia’s principal export pathways under simultaneous strain: Hormuz to the east and the Red Sea-Bab el-Mandeb route to the west.

Pipeline Previously Hit

The East-West Pipeline was struck earlier in 2026.

An Iranian drone attack on a pumping station in April reduced throughput by about 700,000 bpd for several days before Saudi authorities said full capacity had been restored.

Houthi drones also targeted pump stations on the route in 2019.

The latest reports follow a broader escalation on the Saudi-Yemeni front.

On Tuesday, Houthis launched missiles and drones at southern Saudi cities and energy facilities, including Jazan, Abha, Najran and Khamis Mushait.

Saudi forces subsequently carried out strikes inside Yemen.

Oil Already Above $100

Oil markets were already sharply elevated before reports of the possible pipeline incident emerged.

Brent rose more than 6% on September 10 and traded in the $107-$109 range amid attacks near Hormuz, Iranian statements and Houthi advances.

Prices remained in the mid-to-high $100s on September 11, depending on the contract and time of trading.

The pipeline reports have added another layer of geopolitical risk to an already constrained market rather than creating the rally on their own.