Speaking at the GCC 2026 Forum in Manama, Bahrain, Prince Abdulaziz revealed that repairs were completed in a matter of days. "Not everyone knows that within five or six days, we began using the pipeline again after the major attack that struck it," he said, according to Saudi media. "And, thank God, as of this morning we're back up to 5.8 million barrels."
The 1,200km pipeline, which connects oil fields in eastern Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, allows the kingdom to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran in late February, the strait has been largely closed, disrupting regional oil flows. Saudi Arabia has been using the pipeline to reroute some 4 million bpd—about 4 percent of global supply—to Yanbu.
The pipeline had been shut as a precaution after the September attack, which was blamed on Iraqi militias. Prior to the incident, flows had already been reduced due to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea; commodities data firm Kpler recorded average flows of just 2 million bpd in August, the lowest since January.
The pipeline, built in 1981, has a maximum capacity of 7 million bpd. Its swift restoration highlights its strategic importance amid the region's ongoing instability.