Saudi pipeline pumping 7 million bpd of oil, bypassing Hormuz

Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, which circumvents the Strait of ​Hormuz, is pumping oil at its full ‌capacity of 7 million barrels a day, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday, citing a person familiar with the ​matter.

Crude oil exports from Saudi Arabia’s ​Yanbu port on the Red Sea have now reached 5 million barrels a day, and ​the country is also exporting about 700,000 to ​900,000 barrels a day of oil products, the Bloomberg report said.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Saudi ​Arabia’s Aramco did not immediately respond to a ​request for comment.

Aramco CEO Amin Nasser had told reporters earlier in ‌March on an earnings call that the East-West pipeline was expected to reach its full capacity of 7 million bpd in the coming days ​as customers ​re-route.

The conflict in the Gulf region, triggered by US and Israeli attacks on Iran, ​has unsettled energy and transport markets and ​disrupted global shipping.

Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, trapping roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and ​liquefied natural gas supplies, ​sending crude oil surging above $100 a barrel.