Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline, a key route for crude oil exports bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, was struck in the Medina region, according to the Saudi Press Agency. “An official source at the Ministry of Energy stated that the East–West Pipeline in Madinah Region was targeted on Monday, November 9, 2026, resulting in a limited fire that was extinguished by emergency response teams”, the agency reported. The 1,200 km pipeline crosses the Arabian Peninsula through the desert and was previously shut down for several days in September 2026 following drone attacks.
Since the conflict in the Middle East disrupted oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia has redirected approximately 4 mb/d of crude through the pipeline to Yanbu, equivalent to around 4% of global supply. The pipeline has enabled the country to partially offset supply disruptions resulting from tensions around the Strait of Hormuz (Reuters, 09/11/2026).
Meanwhile, production has been halted at the Khor Mor gas facility in Iraq's Kurdistan region following a suspected drone attack that triggered a fire late on 8 November, according to shareholder Dana Gas, based in the UAE (Argus Media press release, 09/11/2026). Khor Mor is operated by the Pearl Petroleum consortium, in which Dana Gas holds a 35% stake, while OMV, MOL and RWE each own 10%. Production remains suspended pending an assessment of the damage, with Dana Gas coordinating with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Iraq's federal authorities. Following the completion of an expansion project in October 2025, Khor Mor has an installed gas-processing capacity of 750 mcf/d (7.7 bcm/year). The facility supplies power plants in Erbil, Chemchemal and Bazian, providing gas for more than 75% of the Kurdistan region's electricity generation capacity. Approximately 2.8 GW of power generation capacity was taken offline as a result of the incident (Reuters, 08/11/2026).
Despite ongoing discussions between Iran and the United States, tensions across the region remain elevated, continuing to weigh on energy markets. Oil supply routes and production facilities in the Gulf and neighbouring countries remain exposed to security threats, sustaining a risk premium in global energy prices.