Saudi Arabia says its East-West pipeline was attacked in the Madinah region — a limited fire, no injuries, operations unaffected
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy said its East-West crude oil pipeline was targeted in the Madinah region on Monday, causing a limited fire that emergency teams extinguished. The ministry said no injuries or fatalities were reported and pipeline operations were unaffected. It did not say who carried out the attack or how, and no group had claimed it in the reporting read. The pipeline carries Saudi crude across the kingdom to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
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Key points
- The Energy Ministry says the East-West pipeline was targeted in the Madinah region on Monday, causing a limited fire that was put out.
- No injuries or fatalities were reported, and operations were unaffected, the ministry says.
- Who carried out the attack, and how, was not stated — and no claim of responsibility had been made in the reporting read.
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- The line runs about 1,200 km from Abqaiq to Yanbu on the Red Sea, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz; it was shut as a precaution after September's attacks.
What happened
The East-West pipeline is Saudi Arabia's main route for moving crude to the Red Sea without passing through the Strait of Hormuz, whose constriction during the war has made the Yanbu route central to the kingdom's exports.
Monday's statement differs from September's: then, attacks in the Riyadh and Madinah regions caused injuries and the line was shut as a precaution for eleven days. This time the ministry reports a limited fire, no injuries and no effect on operations.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That the pipeline was targeted in the Madinah region on Monday, with a limited fire put out, no injuries reported and operations unaffected — the Energy Ministry's own statement.
What we don't know yet
- Who carried out the attack and how — the ministry named no attacker and no method, and no claim of responsibility had been made in the reporting read.
- Whether the pipe itself or a pumping station was hit — the statement does not say.
Claim by claim
Show all claims (4)
Why this label: The ministry's own statement, carried by the Saudi Press Agency and reported in the same terms by Al Jazeera and Reuters' reporting of the statement.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The casualty and operations lines are the ministry's own, in the same statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The absence of attribution is in the ministry's statement itself, as carried by the Saudi Press Agency and Al Jazeera; fighting between Saudi-backed forces and Yemen's Houthis is the reporting's context, not an attribution for this attack.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The route and capacity are the pipeline's established description, carried by the reporting of this attack and the record of the September attacks and restart.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why it matters
The pipeline is the kingdom's Hormuz bypass — the route that keeps Saudi crude reaching the Red Sea when the Gulf route is constricted. An attack that leaves it running is a different event from September's shutdown, but it shows the line remains a target while the war continues.
Background
Attacks on the East-West pipeline in the Riyadh and Madinah regions cause injuries; Saudi Arabia shuts the line as a precaution on 11 September.
The pipeline restarts at reduced volume.
The Energy Ministry says the pipeline was targeted again in the Madinah region, causing a limited fire, with no injuries and no effect on operations.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published in Checking state — the attack, the fire and the absence of injuries are the Energy Ministry's own account, and who carried it out is not yet known.