East–West Crude Oil Pipeline
Oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The East-West Pipeline, also known as the Petroline, is a 746-mile-long (1,201 km) pipeline in Saudi Arabia that runs from the Abqaiq oil field in the Eastern Province (near Bahrain and Qatar on the Persian Gulf coast) across the width of the Arabian Peninsula, to Yanbu at the Red Sea. It was built during the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s to allow Saudi oil exports to bypass the tanker war taking place in the Strait of Hormuz.[1]
| East–West Crude Oil Pipeline | |
|---|---|
The East-West Crude Oil Pipeline (left) with the UAE's Habshan–Fujairah oil pipeline (right) | |
| Location | |
| Country | Saudi Arabia |
| Province | |
| From | Abqaiq |
| To | Yanbu |
| General information | |
| Type | Crude oil |
| Status | Operational |
| Owner | Saudi Aramco |
| Operator | Saudi Aramco |
| Commissioned | 1981 |
| Technical information | |
| Length | 1,200 km (750 mi) |
| Maximum discharge | 7,000,000 barrels per day (1,100,000 m3/d) |
| Diameter | 1,220–1,420 mm (48–56 in) |
| No. of pumping stations | 13 |
Pipeline description
The pipeline has two pipes, one 56 inches (142 cm) in diameter and the other, originally for natural gas liquids, 48 inches (122 cm) in diameter.[2][3]
In 2018, they had a capacity of 5 million barrels per day (790,000 m3/d) (BPD)[4] during normal operation. In 2026, its full capacity was 7 million BPD[5] when accompanying natural gas liquids pipelines were converted to carry crude oil.[6] Saudi Aramco's East-West Pipeline links oil production facilities in the Eastern Province with Yanbu' on the west coast, providing export flexibility between the kingdom's east and west coasts.[7][8]
Typically, the pipeline supplies oil to a number of locations: 1 million BPD to 3 refineries in Yanbu (controlled by the Yanbu National Petrochemical Company and Aramco), to the Sumed pipeline in Egypt, and 1.1—1.4 million BPD of Arab Light oil through the King Fahd Industrial Port (Yanbu) with a limit of 3 million BPD.[9][10]
Yanbu port's two terminals, Yanbu North and Yanbu South, have a nominal loading capacity of about 4.5 million BPD, but a tested actual capacity of about 4 million BPD. In 2026, consultancy Vortexa estimated that in wartime conditions, capacity would be about 3 million BPD.[2][11]
History
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 East West Petroline |
The pipeline was built in the 1980s, "amid fears that the Iran-Iraq war would cut off shipping through the Strait of Hormuz."[3]
The 2019 East–West Pipeline attack was a Houthi drone attack that targeted the pipeline in May 2019. The attack temporarily shut down the pipeline.[3]
The pipeline has been converted at times to carry natural gas, and has been converted back to carry crude oil.[12]
During the 2026 Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to non-Iranian vessels, it was converted to full capacity on 11 March 2026.[13] After conversion, the amount of oil transferred using the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait rose by 21% in comparison to February 2026, all of it bound to Asia.[14] An Iranian drone attack on a pumping station reduced the throughput of the pipeline by 700,000 barrels per day (110,000 m3/d), as of 9 April.[15] Less than three days later, on 12 April, Saudi Arabia announced that the pipeline had been restored to full capacity.[16]
See also
- The Habshan–Fujairah oil pipeline, a 2012 pipeline in UAE which bypasses the Strait of Hormuz
Historical:
- The Trans-Arabian Pipeline (Tapline), a 1950-1976 pipeline which ran from the Persian Gulf to Lebanon
