Saudi Arabia Says Its Hormuz Bypass Pipeline Has Rebounded to 5.8 Million Barrels Per Day
Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on October 6, 2026 that crude flows through the East-West Pipeline had reached 5.8 million barrels per day. He spoke during a panel discussion at the GCC 2026 Forum in Manama, Bahrain, according to Al Jazeera. The number is the kingdom's latest stated throughput for its Red Sea export route.
The 1,200km line, also called the Petroline, connects producing fields in eastern Saudi Arabia to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea. Built in 1981, it works like a detour that lets the kingdom ship oil without using the Strait of Hormuz. That strait, the narrow waterway used by many of the world's oil tankers, has largely been closed since the US-Israel war on Iran began in late February.
Prince Abdulaziz said the kingdom brought the line back into use within five or six days after last month's major attack. Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy said in early September that the pipeline had been temporarily shut as a precaution after the attack. The September drone strikes were blamed on Iraqi militia.
Maximum capacity on the Petroline is 7 million barrels per day. The October 6 figure leaves about 1.2 million barrels per day of unused capacity. It is well above actual flows of about 2 million barrels per day in August, which Kpler put at the lowest monthly level since January. Saudi Arabia has been using the pipeline to reroute about 4 million barrels per day, or about 4 percent of global supply, to Yanbu.
Flows this year have moved up and down. In March, the pipeline was pumping at its full 7 million barrels per day, bypassing Hormuz, according to Reuters. In April, Saudi Arabia restored full pumping capacity to about 7 million barrels per day after an earlier interruption, Reuters reported. In September, the kingdom restarted the line to resume exports to Yanbu, with Aramco seeking to return the pumping rate to 4 million barrels per day, Reuters reported. The 5.8 million-barrel figure now supersedes that September target.
Two days before the Manama remarks, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman met virtually on October 4 to review global market conditions and outlook. The group reaffirmed commitment to market stability.
The broader context here is about having a backup under attack. A pipeline that can be closed as a precaution, reopened in less than a week, and ramped from around 2 million to 5.8 million barrels per day in about two months gives Riyadh a working alternative to Hormuz. It also concentrates risk. The September strikes followed earlier interruptions. Each cycle tests how fast repairs happen, whether high pumping rates hold, and whether buyers keep confidence in loadings at Yanbu.
Looking at what this means for market management, the Petroline does not replace Hormuz volumes for the whole system. It preserves Saudi choices about where to send oil. For traders and policymakers, the points to watch are whether throughput stays near maximum, security along the 1,200km route, and coordination among the seven producers that met on October 4. The numbers point to recovery. Durability is the open question.
