(April 12): Saudi Arabia has restored the full pumping capacity of its East-West pipeline to seven million barrels a day, rehabilitating a vital link for oil exports via the Red Sea.
A strike last week — hours after a ceasefire was declared in the Iran war — damaged one of 11 pumping stations along the 746-mile (1,200-kilometre) conduit, reducing throughput by 700,000 barrels a day. Saudi Arabia has quadrupled crude shipments from its Red Sea terminals since the end of February to work around the near total shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz.
Output from Saudi Aramco’s offshore Manifa oil production facility was also restored, the Energy Ministry said Sunday, though work continues at the Khurais onshore complex. Attacks on Manifa and Khurais had cut production capacity by about 300,000 barrels a day each, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said last week.
“This quick recovery reflects the high operational resilience and crisis management efficiency of Saudi Aramco and the kingdom’s energy ecosystem as a whole, thereby enhancing the reliability and continuity of supplies to local and global markets,” the energy ministry said.
Khurais produces the type of light crude that Aramco had been pumping through the East-West pipeline, while Manifa and Aramco’s other offshore deposits generally pump thicker and heavier barrels.
See also: Two supertankers U-turn in Hormuz as US-Iran talks break down
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