Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports rose sharply in September to 6 million barrels per day. According to Kpler, that is the highest level since the Iran war began about seven months ago and brings the kingdom back to its 2025 monthly average.
The increase came even after the kingdom shut the critical East-West pipeline this month. The line was damaged in a drone attack launched from Iraq. September shipments were nearly 80% higher than the 3.4 million barrels per day exported in August.
During the Iran war, the East-West pipeline served as an important safety valve for the oil market because it allowed Saudi Arabia to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. That route became especially valuable as Iran attacked tankers moving through the waterway. Riyadh had shifted exports from its eastern oil-producing regions to the Red Sea terminal of Yanbu.
Brent crude climbed to nearly $110 a barrel after the pipeline outage, but prices later eased as investors grew more confident that the disruption would be less severe than first feared.
Saudi Arabia has now redirected part of its crude exports back through the Strait of Hormuz. That has been helped by a U.S. military shipping lane carved out along Oman's coast. Other Gulf states have relied on the same route for months, although it remains risky because Iran continues to attack tankers transiting the strait.
Matt Smith, director of commodity research at Kpler, said the increase in flows from the Mideast Gulf was a result of the East-West pipeline outage, but likely also pointed to greater confidence in using the Strait of Hormuz as traffic rises.
Kpler data showed oil exports through Hormuz reached a seven-day average of 13.2 million barrels per day on Wednesday, compared with around 17 million barrels per day before the Iran war disrupted traffic.
Industry sources told Reuters that the East-West pipeline restarted at low volumes earlier this week and is now ramping up. Saudi Arabia has not publicly confirmed that the pipeline has resumed operations.
Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser told Japan's Nikkei that “temporary interruptions” to oil infrastructure usually last “days, not weeks or months.” He did not provide a specific update on the East-West pipeline.
