Saudi Arabia has reported a new attack on its critical East-West oil pipeline, according to state media. An official at the Saudi Ministry of Energy said that the pipeline was targeted in the Medina region in the west of the country on Monday.
The incident caused a limited fire that was successfully extinguished, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Officials confirmed that no injuries or fatalities were reported from the incident, and pipeline operations remained unaffected.
The official report did not identify the party responsible for the attack. Fighting continues to intensify between Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government coalition that it backs, alongside the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The infrastructure project is essential for bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, which remains tightly constricted by the US-Israel war on Iran. The vital energy link has come under attack several times as the war on Iran fuels a wider global energy crisis.
The Houthis have repeatedly targeted Saudi oil infrastructure, including refineries and storage facilities, using drones and missiles. The 1,200km or 745-mile pipeline runs through the desert across the Arabian Peninsula.
The strategic corridor was previously shut down for several days in September after drone attacks, which Saudi Arabia said were launched from Iraq. Satellite imagery has shown repairs and bypass construction on the pipeline near Al Dhekra in Medina Province following those incidents.
Since the ongoing conflict disrupted oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, Riyadh has rerouted about 4 million barrels per day of crude via the East-West pipeline to Yanbu. This volume is equivalent to about 4 percent of global energy supply.
