Saudi East-West pipeline shut after drone strikes, Asian refiners await word on Yanbu cargoes

Saudi Aramco closed its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu as a precaution after drone attacks launched from Iraq, leaving at least four Asian refiners without official word on their scheduled cargoes. The closure tightens already stressed oil transit routes, with the US-Iran war and Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping cutting Saudi exports from about 5 million barrels a day to roughly half that since late July.