Posted on 09/13/2026 7:22:50 PM PDT by Mount Athos
Saudi Arabia will run out of oil stocks for exports if it doesn't restart its major pipeline to the Red Sea within days, leading to a loss of up to 4% of global supply, Saudi oil buyers and traders said. A further decline in Saudi flows will worsen the global supply crunch, which has already pushed global fuel prices to record highs, spurred inflation around the world and sent U.S. bond yields to the highest levels since the 2008 financial crisis.
Since drone attacks forced Saudi Arabia to shut its huge east-west oil pipeline on Friday, Riyadh has not given full details about the extent of the damage or how long the route will stay off-line.
Sources that spoke to Reuters gave varying estimates, with one saying the damage could take as long as five to six weeks to repair, while another said it could be fixed sooner and could resume pumping partially while repairs are ongoing.
Saudi Arabia's government media office and energy ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. For the past six months, the pipeline running through the desert across the Arabian Peninsula has spared Saudi Arabia from the brunt of the impact of the wartime shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz that has crippled exports from its neighbours.
The Middle East supplied around 22 million barrels per day of oil before the war. Flows through the Strait of Hormuz have slowed to just 6 million to 9 million bpd, industry sources say.
Saudi Arabia told OPEC last week that its oil production had dropped to just 6.2 million bpd in August from 10.9 million bpd in February before the start of the war.
(Excerpt) Read more at aol.com ...
Shhhhh... not so loud. My town will hear this and raise prices immediately! (But when good news about oil gets bandied about, it takes 2 weeks or more for prices to drop)
If, up to.
Seems like step 1 should be eliminating the threat of more drones or they will blow it up again once it’s fixed.
And yet, there are no declarations of war by any of the countries attacked by Iran.
You’d almost think they’re not really our allies . . .
No gas ⛽ lines here 🇱🇷 .
All essential prices high, because the 40+ Trillion, that’s right T R I L L I I O N, US Government Debt Cult is high.
Spot on man
Total baloney. The Saudis were already rerouting pipeline oil back to routes through the Strait of Hormuz that had been opened by the US Navy. This was just a cautionary interruption while they prepared their military to hit the Houthis.
Why was it not buried underground?
“And yet, there are no declarations of war by any of the countries attacked by Iran.
You’d almost think they’re not really our allies . . .”
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Since we haven’t even run it by Congress, and nobody seems to know if it’s a war or not, you can’t blame others from deciding to just sit it out. Maybe if we get our act together, they’ll join us.
At least the right people will be getting dried up. Saudi Arabia exports the vast majority of its crude oil to major economies in Asia, with China, Japan, South Korea, and India as the primary destination. And it is their fault the problem exists with the need for Saudi oil and the flow is decelerated. The problem is Iran and they are supporting them. They are running with the pack.
wy69
“Why was it not buried underground?”
Most of the pipes are, the giant pumps and buffer tanks are above ground and those got smashed by drones. Drones from Iraq using Chinese satellite imaging as targeting for the AI digital scene matching and probably the Chinese version of GPS for mid course too.
It’s too expensive to bury acres and acres of infrastructure. Saudi needs some Golden Hornets from Ukraine those antidrone drones are kicking the Russian copy of the Iranian Shaheds butts.
UAE has been one of the more anti-Iran countries, but, being relatively small, I’m not sure how much they want to stick there noses out, esp. given some serious disagreements with the Saudis on how to handle things.
The Saudis are armed to the teeth, but except for some small elite units, up until now have been a big disappointment in actual conflict. Worse, they seem to have believed that if they tried to act neutral and not help the US, they would not get hit — one of the dumbest assessments of all time. Iran’s clear tactic is to disrupt global energy supplies, and since Saudi is one of the biggest and next door...
Additionally, I swear the Saudis are almost as bad as some FReepers when it comes to 1) Not recognizing their own resources; 2) Basically, being scaredy-cats; and 3) Inability to think out of the box.
Fox News reported yesterday that the the US has set up some sort of joint command with the Saudis, so despite Trump saying we would not help SA (possibly partially due to Saudi being so unhelpful in recent months), perhaps:
A) Our Centcom commanders have gone to Trump or Hegseth and pointed out that Saudi’s location, huge weapons inventory, and considerable firepower, are all quite useful.
B) The Saudis have made Trump an offer he can’t refuse. (I tongue in cheek suggested yesterday that Saudi might ask to become a US territory.)
C) The Saudis are now REALLY scared.
D) There’s even more to it.
E) Some combination of all the above.
Truth be told, the Saudis should not need us to scorch that island the Houthis have seized, from end to end. A good size city... will likely be messy... :-(
But China’s debt as a % of GDP is 2-1/2x ours, so... ???
Don’t get me wrong, our level of debt is much too high, tho’ I’d argue the inefficiencies our gov’t promotes (partially financed by some of that debt!) are a considerably more damaging problem.
The Saudis have a military in the same sense that they drive G-Wagens, Bugattis, and wear Patek Philippe. Wealth performance only.
🚲 Bicycle Economy.
“Your here to serve this Ship, row well and live”
I believe the Saudi Royal Family, like all dictatorships, have a great portion of their military focused inward.
The Chinese might want to reconsider some things: Saudi Arabia supplies them as much or more oil than Iran.
Russia is China’s #1 foreign oil supplier, but, the Ukies have been disrupting some of the oil shipped by sea, and if the range of the Ukie’s strikes keeps increasing...
You are correct - the Saudi pipeline itself was not hit, it was some pumps.
Why the Saudis have not worked with some of their Asian customers to literally have millions of drones and anti-drones is beyond me. They certainly have the potential pilots. (23 million gamers).
That is a much too simplistic view of the Chinese economy. You should try touring some of their industries sometime...
What do you have against Japan and South Korea?
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