Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline shut down after drone strikes damage pumping stations

Drone strikes hit two pumping stations along Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline on September 10, igniting fires at both sites and forcing a full shutdown of the pipeline the following day. The pipeline, known as Petroline, normally moves between 4 and 5 million barrels of crude oil per day, making this one of the most consequential attacks on global energy infrastructure in years. Saudi officials confirmed the drones were launched from Iraq’s Maysan province. No group has claimed responsibility, but US officials, including President Trump, have pointed to Iran-aligned factions as the likely perpetrators. The attacks caused injuries but no fatalities. What got hit, and how bad is it Satellite imagery from Planet Labs, Vantor, Maxar, and Sentinel-3 documented extensive fire damage across both pump station complexes. One station showed a burn scar covering roughly 12 hectares, a footprint large enough to encompass about 22 American football fields. The pipeline has been offline since September 11, and the repair timeline remains uncertain. Estimates range from several days to as long as eight weeks. This wasn’t the pipeline’s first brush with sabotage in 2026. An earlier attack in Apri...