US energy chief says Saudi pipeline operations to resume within days: Report

Saudi Arabia’s key East-West crude oil pipeline is expected to resume operations “very soon,” US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC on Tuesday.

“This will be a brief and temporary interruption,” said Wright. “It will be measured in days.”

The pipeline was shut down late last week after it was damaged in a drone strike originating from Iraq. Wright said Iran-backed proxy groups carried out the attack.

Riyadh has used the pipeline to redirect crude oil exports toward the Red Sea amid the US-Iran struggle for control of the Strait of Hormuz.

While the pipeline remains offline, Saudi Arabia is rerouting some oil shipments through Hormuz with support from the US military, according to Wright.

US crude oil prices have risen more than 5% this week, climbing above $105 per barrel, as traders evaluate the potential scale of the supply disruption caused by the pipeline outage.​​​​​​​