Wright repeats Saudi pipeline will run soon as damage checks continue

The pipeline normally carries 4 to 5 million barrels a day around the Strait of Hormuz, according to Reuters.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said assessments of damage to the East-West pipeline are still under way, and repeated that the line will be running again soon.

The pipeline, which normally moves 4 to 5 million barrels a day as Saudi Arabia's main bypass for the Strait of Hormuz, was struck on 10 September, when satellite imagery showed two pump stations hit in a drone attack. Saudi Arabia halted oil loadings at Yanbu afterward, with storage covering only five to seven days of exports. The repair timeline has since lengthened, from an initial estimate of three to five weeks to six to eight weeks for full restoration.

Wright has made similar statements before. He said the same thing in earlier remarks, and separately told reporters that 18 million barrels moved through Hormuz in a single day, nearly double the 10 million barrel daily average he had cited previously.

Crude has stayed elevated on the outage and on Houthi disruption risks, with Brent up 3.0% to $108.86 a barrel and WTI up 4.7% to $106.15. Wright's reiteration offers only marginal relief against that backdrop. With the repair window still measured in weeks rather than days, the supply shock behind the recent price gains remains largely intact, and the ongoing damage assessment gives markets no new information to move away from the bullish setup already priced into crude.