RismadarVoice Reporters
September 15, 2026
Saudi Arabia has informed some European customers that it will cancel certain crude oil cargoes scheduled for late September after an attack forced the shutdown of its key East-West oil pipeline, according to Reuters.
The development is raising fresh concerns over global oil supplies as the pipeline disruption comes amid wider instability affecting major energy routes in the Middle East.
The East-West pipeline, which transports Saudi crude across the kingdom to the Red Sea, provides an important alternative route for exports that would otherwise depend on the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
Its shutdown has constrained Saudi Arabia’s ability to move crude to Red Sea export terminals, increasing pressure on available supplies and forcing refiners and traders to search for alternative cargoes.
Poland’s state-controlled oil company Orlen is among the European refiners seeking replacement supplies. Traders said the company was looking for crude from the North Sea and other sources to compensate for disrupted Saudi deliveries.
The disruption follows a drone attack that Saudi Arabia said affected the pipeline, which had been particularly important while shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remained severely restricted.
The pipeline has the capacity to transport several million barrels of crude per day and has been viewed as a critical bypass route around Hormuz. Reuters reported that the shutdown could threaten up to 4% of global oil supply if it persists.
Saudi crude exports to Europe have increasingly relied on the Red Sea route, with oil transported through the East-West pipeline to Yanbu before being shipped towards Europe through Egypt’s Suez-Mediterranean, or SUMED, pipeline system.
The disruption has already prompted concerns among European and Asian refiners over tighter supplies. Reuters reported that Asian buyers were also awaiting clearer guidance from Saudi Arabia on the availability of crude shipments through the Red Sea.
The supply concerns have contributed to a rise in international oil prices. Brent crude climbed above $105 a barrel on Tuesday as traders assessed the impact of the pipeline outage alongside attacks and disruption affecting other regional energy and shipping routes.
The situation has been further complicated by the sharp decline in commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters reported that only four commodity vessels transited the waterway on Monday, compared with 10 the previous day and an estimated pre-war average of about 125 daily transits.
The combination of reduced Hormuz traffic and the closure of Saudi Arabia’s alternative export route has heightened concerns that prolonged disruptions could place additional pressure on global crude inventories and fuel prices.
Saudi Arabia’s latest decision to cancel some late-September European cargoes therefore represents another sign that the regional conflict is increasingly affecting physical oil supplies, rather than remaining limited to financial-market concerns.
Traders and refiners are expected to continue monitoring the duration of the pipeline shutdown, the availability of Saudi crude from alternative export routes and developments around the Strait of Hormuz as they assess the potential impact on global energy markets.
