Unconfirmed satellite data suggests fresh strike on Saudi oil pipeline bypassing Hormuz

Unverified satellite imagery has fuelled speculation that Houthi forces have struck Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline (Petroline), a 1,200 km overland route bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. Neither Aramco nor the Saudi energy ministry has confirmed the claim, which follows a week of confirmed Houthi attacks in southern Saudi Arabia. Any disruption to the pipeline, which has a capacity of 7 million barrels per day, would tighten global oil supplies and hit European importers hard.

Bottom line — A confirmed strike on Petroline would cut Europe’s access to alternative Red Sea oil supplies amid simultaneous disruptions at Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab.

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• The claim originates from an account analysing satellite thermal imagery, which detected fire radiative power readings above 70 megawatts along the pipeline route — an intensity it argues is inconsistent with routine flaring or maintenance, per investingLive.
• The heat signature reportedly persisted for eight hours across separate satellite passes, but the account's interpretation has not been corroborated by Aramco, the Saudi energy ministry or any wire service, according to PrimeXBT.
• The East-West Pipeline runs roughly 1,200 km from Abqaiq in the Eastern Province to Yanbu on the Red Sea and was built during the Iran–Iraq war to bypass Hormuz, as noted by Wikipedia.
• Just days earlier, Houthi strikes on facilities in southern Saudi Arabia wounded more than 70 people and forced a halt at some energy sites, per Saudi authorities cited by Gulf News.
• If confirmed, the attack would mark a major escalation: it would directly threaten the overland infrastructure designed as an alternative to maritime routes already under pressure, according to NDTV Profit.
• Oil markets have already reacted sharply to the broader conflict: Brent crude rose above $108 per barrel, while traffic through Hormuz collapsed to single-digit daily transits, per Reuters data.

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