UPDATE — Sept. 11: Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry said Friday the vital East-West oil pipeline — Petroline, the kingdom’s land bridge to Yanbu on the Red Sea — was temporarily shut down as a precaution after several Thursday attacks on the line in the Riyadh and Medina regions, Reuters reported citing state media quoting a ministry source. Some people were injured and received medical treatment. Bloomberg and The National said the ministry also posted on X that emergency/technical teams were securing the line and assessing safety.

That is the official Hormuz-bypass closure flash. It transforms earlier Friday reporting that relied on U.S. officials and satellites without a Saudi confirmation of a shutdown.

The ministry’s first statement did not name attackers. Officials later said drones launched from Iraq had hit the pipeline; Riyadh said it would not take action for now while Iraqi officials address the matter after Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi ordered an investigation, The National reported, citing a Saudi Foreign Ministry statement that reserved the right to protect sovereignty and critical facilities. The Washington Examiner similarly framed the shuttering after the Thursday drone/offensive context.

Earlier Friday, CNN — citing two U.S. officials — reported projectiles struck pump stations beside the East-West system Thursday, with satellite imagery showing fire damage near Al Mesba’ah and thick black smoke near Al Dhekra; one official pointed to drones originating from Iraq. Saudi authorities and Aramco had not yet publicly confirmed a strike or physical damage in that CNN window. A Payne Institute analysis separately warned that some satellite heat aligned with cataloged emergency flaring — not proof, by itself, of an unverified multi-point trunk rupture.

Context: the East-West line links eastern crude to Yanbu and is the main Hormuz bypass. The National cited full pumping capacity of about seven million barrels per day; do not invent additional barrel or price figures beyond sourced copy. With Hormuz effectively closed in the U.S.–Iran war and Houthis pressing Bab al-Mandab, a precautionary Petroline shutdown is concentrated control over the kingdom’s remaining overland export artery.

Sources