Monday, Sept. 14, 2026 — New commercial satellite imagery and a fresh oil rally sharpened the picture of how hard last week’s drone strikes hit Saudi Arabia’s East-West crude pipeline, while a planned Oman-hosted meeting between Iran and Gulf states on Hormuz shipping was postponed.

This is a Monday update to the outage story: the kingdom’s precautionary shutdown of the ~1,200-kilometer (745-mile) Petroline after Thursday/Friday attacks was already known. What is new today is the public damage imagery, Monday’s price spike, repair-timeline briefings, and the diplomatic delay.

Satellite frames: Al-Mesabaah pumping pad burned

Satellite photos released overnight and carried Monday by outlets including The Guardian, Al Jazeera, and wire services show a pumping station along the East-West route at al-Mesabaah (al-Mesba’ah), southeast of Medina, blackened after fires linked to the drone attack. The frames are attributed to Vantor via AFP/Getty and dated Sept. 13 — two days after the strikes Saudi officials said hit infrastructure in the Riyadh and Medina regions.

The imagery does not, by itself, prove the buried 48/56-inch trunk lines are ruptured; it does show extensive fire damage to surface pumping equipment at a key booster site. Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry has described the line’s halt as a precautionary shutdown pending inspection and has not published a full damage inventory. Riyadh has blamed drones launched from militants in Iraq.

Two regional officials briefed on the matter told the Associated Press on Monday that the pipeline will mostly be out of service for weeks while damage is repaired — including at a major pumping facility — with estimates of three to five weeks. One official said the line may operate partially while crews work. Aramco did not immediately respond to AP’s request for comment. Earlier Reuters sources had put full repairs at as much as five to six weeks, or sooner with partial restart.

Oil: Brent above $108, WTI around $103–$105

Markets priced the outage and broader Hormuz risk into Monday trading. Brent climbed above $108 a barrel in Monday morning dealing (Euronews; The Guardian reported an intraday high near $108 before some easing). Later Middle East session prints cited by The National showed Brent near $109.44 and West Texas Intermediate near $104.79 — after morning levels around $103 for WTI. Anadolu Agency’s mid-morning print had Brent near $107.16 and WTI near $102.54.

The East-West line’s wartime role has been to move roughly 4–5 million barrels per day — about 4% of global supply — from eastern fields to Red Sea loadings at Yanbu, bypassing a Strait of Hormuz that remains severely disrupted. Industry sources have said Yanbu stocks can cover only about five to seven days of exports without pipeline refill, with Egyptian storage at Ain Sukhna and Sidi Kerir adding several more days.

Maximum East-West capacity is about 7 million bpd; actual wartime flows have varied. A merchant vessel strike in Hormuz over the weekend that Iranian authorities said killed one crew member added to the risk premium.

Oman: Iran–Gulf Hormuz meeting postponed

Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said Sunday night on X that a regional meeting set for Monday in Salalah — intended to bring Iran and Gulf states together on Strait of Hormuz arrangements — had been postponed “in the interests of consensus.” “We remain committed to fostering dialogue that supports stability and lasting cooperation in our region,” he wrote, per Reuters and CNN.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Gulf-affairs director Mohammad Ali Bak told state agency Irna the delay came “at the request of some regional countries and by a joint decision by Oman and Iran,” with a new date to be coordinated with Muscat (The National). Bahrain had signaled it would skip the talks after the pipeline attacks; reports also cited Saudi reservations about the Hormuz framework language. No new date was announced Monday morning.

Iran has said reopening normal Hormuz transit still depends on U.S. demands being met; vessels currently need Iranian permission to pass, and Tehran has floated service fees — a concentrated chokepoint risk that markets are pricing regardless of any single diplomatic calendar.

What to watch

Saudi officials have not yet given a public restart date. Watch for Energy Ministry or Aramco notices on partial pumping, independent confirmation of whether buried trunks were cut, Yanbu loading rates as stocks draw down, and any rescheduled Oman/Iran/GCC session on Hormuz corridors.

Sources