Iraq under pressure to shut down key Saudi gas pipeline after drone strikes | Today’s news
(Bloomberg) — Iraq is trying to limit the fallout from attacks that shut down Saudi Arabia’s east-west oil pipeline after it was determined that the attacks were launched from inside the country.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi dismissed the operations commander of Maysan province early on Saturday and ordered an investigation after discovering that the attacks targeting the pipeline came from a location in the region that borders Iran, according to a statement.
Saudi Arabia shut down the pipeline as a precaution on Friday after several drones attacked a major oil pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said.
Iraq has been under pressure to try to rein in local Iranian-backed militias to help other proxy groups across the region, but has had little success and its territory has become a key base for Tehran’s retaliation across the Persian Gulf.
The East-West pipeline has become a vital lifeline for Saudi Arabia’s oil exports, especially after the Iran war broke out. The 7 million bpd pipeline quickly reached full capacity earlier this year after tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz came to a near halt.
However, Iran-backed Houthi forces have increased the pressure and advanced along Yemen’s Red Sea coast towards the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, gaining ground while missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia continued, forcing it to halt several energy hubs.
If the group increases its control over the area, it will have more power to disrupt shipping through another energy bottleneck, adding pressure to already elevated oil prices. It would also jeopardize Saudi Arabia’s own efforts to protect its economy from regional conflict.
Oil prices were little changed after the Saudi ministry’s announcement, with Brent futures trading at around $105 a barrel. Brent rose sharply on Thursday to nearly hit $110 on speculation about the impact of the latest conflict on energy supplies in the region.
Since the drone attacks, Iraq has also ordered the closure of the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iran as a precaution, Reuters reported, citing unidentified security sources.
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