Saudi Arabia Restores Key Oil Pipeline to Full Capacity Following Attack

Kathmandu. Saudi Arabia has fully restored its critical East-West oil pipeline to full capacity following an attack last week.

According to the Ministry of Energy, the approximately 1,200-kilometer pipeline is one of the two major routes in the region. It transports oil while bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.

The attack had impacted the production of approximately 700,000 barrels of oil per day. In a statement released on Sunday, the ministry confirmed that the pipeline's pumping capacity has returned to approximately 7 million barrels per day, and production at the Manifa oil field has reached about 300,000 barrels per day. However, work is still underway to restore full production at the Khurais oil field.

Previously, satellite imagery provided by the European Space Agency showed thick black smoke billowing from the Saudi Aramco Abqaiq processing facility. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.