Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline was struck by drones and will remain out of service for several weeks, the Associated Press reports. The damage further limits how much oil the kingdom can move while its main export route remains under threat.
The pipeline was constructed as a fallback in case Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow channel through which Saudi Arabia normally ships most of its crude. Fortune reports that militias still managed to strike the line despite its role as a contingency route.
The outage comes as Saudi Arabia confronts what The New York Times describes as a "worst-case scenario" following attacks from Iran and rebuffs from the Trump administration. CNBC reports that the kingdom is now racing to restore what it calls a key safety valve for oil prices, while Al Jazeera notes the East-West pipeline's importance to global oil markets.
With the pipeline down for weeks, Saudi Arabia has fewer options for getting crude to buyers, tightening the cushion that normally absorbs supply shocks. The extent of the damage and the timeline for repairs have not been detailed in the reporting.
What to watch next: whether the pipeline returns to service on schedule and whether the disruption pushes oil prices higher.