Saudi oil exports take 700,000-bpd hit from Iranian attacks

• Saudi output capacity cut by 600,000 bpd
• Refinery hits directly affect product exports
• East-West pipeline capacity down 10%

Saudi Arabia’s crude output capacity has dropped by 600,000 barrels per day as a result of Iranian attacks, while another 700,000 bpd of oil flowing through its East-West pipeline has been lost, the Energy Ministry said.

Since the US and Israel first struck Iran on February 28, Tehran’s retaliation has impacted facilities that produce, transport and refine oil and gas in the kingdom, as well as petrochemical and electricity plants in Riyadh, Eastern Province and Yanbu Industrial City, the Saudi Press Agency cited a ministry source as saying.

One national, an employee of electricity company Saudi Energy, died as a result of the strikes and seven more were wounded, according to the report, the first detailed overview of the war’s impact on the Saudi energy industry.

A fragile ceasefire began on Wednesday. However, a drone launched by Iran hours after the truce took effect damaged a pumping station along the East-West pipeline that funnels Saudi crude from Abqaiq in Eastern Province to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, leading to the loss of 700,000 bpd in throughput, the official said.

That amounts to 10 percent of the 7-million-bpd capacity of the pipeline, which has become an increasingly vital export route after Iran effectively halted tanker passage through the Strait of Hormuz. 

Attacks on the Manifa and Khurais oilfields reduced their production capacity by 300,000 bpd each, the state news agency cited the official as saying. 

Major refineries, including Saudi Aramco’s facilities in Jubail, Ras Tanura, Yanbu and Riyadh, sustained hits, “directly affecting exports of refined products to global markets”. 

“Processing facilities in Ju’aymah were also affected by fires, impacting exports of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and natural gas liquids,” the SPA said.

Saudi Arabia produced more than 11 million bpd of crude in 2023, around 11 percent of global supply, the US Energy Information Administration says. It exported nearly 6.7 million bpd that year, according to data platform CEIC. 

“Saudi Arabia has long been a reliable and resilient supplier, even in times of crisis, underpinned by redundancy and strategic diversification across its logistics,” Sara Vakhshouri, founder of advisory firm SVB Energy International and adjunct professor at Georgetown University, wrote on X. 

“Even amid current tensions, shifting its export routes has played a critical role in global energy security — yet this conflict is becoming increasingly difficult to contain.”

Brent crude futures were up 58 cents, or 0.60 percent, at $96.50 a barrel by 03:38 GMT on Friday. West Texas Intermediate futures were up 49 cents, or 0.50 percent, at $98.36 a barrel. As nerves eased over the ceasefire, both contracts have so far this week lost 11 percent, the biggest weekly decline since June 2025.

Further reading:

• Gulf oil producers can bypass Hormuz – but they cannot replace it
• ‘Calm has returned’ to Gulf aluminium with Hormuz reroute
• Iran risks loss of trading lifeline with UAE