Saudi Arabia's oil pipeline bypassing Hormuz damaged in Iranian attack, source says

Saudi Arabia's crucial East-West oil pipeline, currently its only outlet ​for crude exports, was hit in ‌an Iranian attack and other facilities in the kingdom were also targeted, an industry source told Reuters on Wednesday, Report informs via Reuters.

The ​pipeline was diverting around 7 million barrels ​per day (bpd) from the kingdom's oil heartland ⁠in the east to the Red Sea ​port of Yanbu after Iran effectively shuttered the ​Strait of Hormuz, trapping huge volumes of oil and gas and sending world energy markets skyrocketing.

Flows through the ​pipeline are expected to be affected, the ​source said, adding damage was being assessed. That could exacerbate ‌what ⁠experts have called the world's worst energy crisis.

Aramco uses about 2 million bpd domestically, leaving roughly 5 million bpd for export. Yanbu loadings ​averaged a ​near-capacity 4.6 ⁠million bpd in the week starting March 23, shipping data shows, ​despite attacks targeting the hub on ​March ⁠19.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement on Wednesday it hit several targets across the ⁠region ​with missiles and drones, including ​what it called oil facilities of American companies in Yanbu.