Pipeline, routes and station positions are drawn schematically; every figure is sourced in About > Sources, and claims by any party are labeled as claims.
About this story
One pipeline, watched across a war.
The Arabian peninsula, February 28 - November 13, 2026. A strait closes, a 1,200 km pipe across the desert becomes the way out, and both sides know it.
Not a video - a real map driven by a timeline you can scrub or step through. The lines are drawn schematically; every figure comes from the reporting listed in Sources.
Why one pipe matters this much. Before the war, about a quarter of the world's seaborne oil and a fifth of its LNG threaded the Strait of Hormuz. When the strait closed, the East-West Pipeline became Saudi Arabia's way around its own geography - and a target. The Hormuz crisis has since set off a pipeline-building boom across the region (MEED).
The rings, arcs and strike markers are visual impressions; the dated figures - $126 Brent, 5.8 million barrels a day, ~4% of world supply - are from the sources below.
lifeline - a map story, November 13, 2026. Sound off. Nothing saved. Routes and facility positions are schematic; claims by any party are labeled as claims.
What this is
The story of Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline during the 2026 Hormuz crisis, told on the map it crosses. It opens with the strait closing on February 28, passes through $126 oil and two blockades, finds the 1,200 km pipe from Abqaiq to Yanbu, and follows it through a drone-forced September shutdown, a 5.8-million-barrel-a-day October comeback, and the claimed strikes of November 12.
Good to know
- Before the war the Strait of Hormuz carried about 25% of the world's seaborne oil trade and 20% of its LNG (US EIA figures, via Wikipedia's crisis timeline). Tanker traffic fell to near zero after February 28; Brent peaked near $126 in March.
- The East-West Pipeline - Petroline - runs about 1,200 km from Abqaiq to Yanbu with capacity around 7 million barrels a day, entirely inside Saudi Arabia (Anadolu). Its route here is drawn schematically.
- September 10-11: drones launched from Iraq struck the line in the Riyadh and Medina regions (Saudi Foreign Ministry, via Anadolu); Aramco shut it as a precaution and oil rose (CNBC); crude swung back through Hormuz while it was down (Bloomberg).
- October 6: Saudi Arabia said the line was pumping 5.8 million barrels a day (Al Jazeera), with expansion toward 10 million under way (Pipeline Technology Journal).
- November 12: the Houthis claimed a drone strike on Pumping Station 7 and a missile strike on the Yanbu facility; Riyadh reported interceptions (Al Jazeera, The Hindu, Dawn). Riyadh says about 4 million barrels a day - roughly 4% of global supply - moves through the line. The UN Security Council extended Yemen sanctions for a year the same day.
- Where claims conflict - who hit what, and how much damage - the story says so rather than picking a side.
Steps
Sources
- Wikipedia: 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis - timeline from February 28; traffic near zero; March 27 closure to allied ports; $126 Brent peak; stranded ships and mariners (citing EIA and IMO figures).
- US EIA - the Strait of Hormuz as a critical oil chokepoint.
- Reuters, April 13 - the US naval blockade of Iranian ports.
- Anadolu, September 12 - the pipeline explained: ~1,200 km, ~7M bbl/day capacity; the September drone strikes and precautionary shutdown.
- CNBC, August 12 - Saudi ramps oil via the Mediterranean to avoid Red Sea attacks.
- CNBC, September 13 - oil rises after the shutdown.
- Bloomberg, September 16 - the pivot back through Hormuz while the line was shut.
- Al Jazeera, October 6 - back on line at 5.8 million barrels a day.
- Pipeline Technology Journal - expansion toward 10 million barrels a day.
- Al Jazeera, November 12 - the claimed strikes, the interceptions, ~4M bbl/day at stake, sanctions extended.
- The Hindu, November 12 and Dawn - the Houthi claims, and their denial of targeting Mecca.
- MEED - the regional pipeline-building boom the crisis set off.
Before you rely on it
This is a story about eight months, not a live tracker of a war. Positions of pipelines, stations and routes are schematic, wartime claims are labeled as claims, and events after November 13 will outrun this page. For the current picture, the wire services above are the places to look.