As markets anticipate Saudi Aramco's announcement of its financial results for the third quarter of 2026 on Tuesday, the repercussions of the US–Israel war on Iran stand out as one of the most prominent factors testing the company's ability to maintain its operations and the flow of its supplies to global markets. Despite attacks that struck oil facilities and disruptions to shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz since the outbreak of the war on February 28, the company continued to rely on a system of infrastructure and operational alternatives developed over decades. These measures included pipelines, alternative export outlets, and international inventories, alongside accelerating repairs to damaged facilities and sourcing maintenance requirements locally. Chief among these alternatives is the East–West pipeline, which transports crude oil from the Eastern Region to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz and providing an export outlet when navigation through the strait is disrupted. The importance of this route stems from advance planning to diversify export outlets. This was underscored by Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman at the International Petroleum Conference in October 2026, when he stressed the need for providing alternatives before crises occur, pointing to the role of strategic infrastructure in boosting the security of energy supplies. In parallel with these alternatives, Aramco bolstered its measures to manage attacks and disruptions by accelerating the repair of damaged facilities, securing maintenance materials and spare parts locally, and utilizing crude inventories both inside and outside the Kingdom. The company is also studying additional options to transport oil away from maritime corridors that are vulnerable to disruption. Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman at the International Petroleum Conference in October 2026. (SPA) These measures take on particular significance in light of the repercussions of the war that broke out on February 28, which extended to oil facilities in the Gulf, coinciding with the disruption of shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and escalating concerns over the continuity of supplies to global markets. Aramco's facilities were among those targeted by the attacks. Two days after the outbreak of the war, the Ras Tanura refinery was targeted by two drones that were intercepted. Their debris caused a limited fire and minor damage, without affecting the supply of petroleum products to the domestic market. In confronting these risks, the company focused on accelerating damage repair and restoring operations, while ensuring the continuous flow of oil to global markets. Aramco's President and CEO Amin Nasser revealed aspects of these preparations in a Reuters interview published on October 15. The measures included utilizing drones to assess damage, securing repair materials, and deploying specialized teams to handle multiple incidents simultaneously. Response teams and repair inventories Aramco has bolstered its incident response capabilities and accelerated the repair of damaged facilities through an emergency system that includes specialized teams, inventories of repair materials and spare parts, and tools to assess damage and determine technical requirements. Nasser explained that Aramco developed specialized rapid-response teams following the 2019 attacks targeting the Abqaiq oil processing facility, and has since worked to boost its readiness to handle incidents, including simultaneous ones. According to Nasser, the company produces locally or maintains in its warehouses approximately 90 percent of the materials required for repairs, which reduces reliance on imports and speeds up the restoration of operations. Nasser said Aramco's response speed is more than six times the industry average, allowing damaged facilities to resume operations within days in many cases. The emergency system is not limited to facility repairs, but also encompasses business continuity plans, the utilization of domestic and international inventories, and multiple routes for transporting and exporting crude oil, which helps the company maintain supplies despite production and shipping disruptions. Aramco's President and CEO Amin Nasser at a petroleum conference in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat) Restoring the capacity of the East–West Pipeline With growing reliance on the East–West pipeline to bypass shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz, its role has emerged as a primary corridor for transporting oil from the Eastern Region to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, and from there to global markets. However, this route was not immune to the repercussions of the war; one of its pumping stations was attacked in April, which reduced flows by around 700,000 barrels per day. On April 12, the Ministry of Energy announced the restoration of the pipeline's full operational capacity, which stands at around seven million barrels per day. The concept of establishing the pipeline dates back to the early 1980s during the Iraq–Iran War, when Saudi Arabia, under the directives of King Fahd bin Abdulaziz, decided to diversify its oil export outlets in anticipation of shipping disruptions in the Gulf. In 1995, its capacity was raised to around five million barrels per day, as reviewed by Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman during the International Petroleum Conference in October 2026. Infrastructure readiness On April 9, the Ministry of Energy announced that the targeting of a pumping station reduced pipeline flows by some 700,000 barrels per day, while subsequent attacks also impacted production at the Manifa and Khurais fields. Just three days later, the Ministry confirmed the restoration of full pumping capacity on the East-West pipeline and the recovery of affected production at the Manifa field, with work ongoing at the Khurais field. In September, the pipeline was preemptively shut down to verify its safety following a new attack. On October 6, the Minister of Energy said operations had resumed within five to six days, with flows reaching around 5.8 million barrels per day, compared to its maximum capacity of seven million barrels per day. These developments reflect the importance of rapidly repairing pumping stations and restoring operations at a time of increased reliance on export routes via the Red Sea to compensate for shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. An integrated system In its announcement of first-quarter results for 2026, Aramco said that it had activated business continuity plans to manage the repercussions of the war. The company utilized the East–West pipeline along with domestic and international storage capacities, in addition to leveraging the diversity of its assets and infrastructure. In a speech delivered in London on October 5, Nasser stated that the company's resilience also relies on global strategic inventories, spare production capacity, multiple grades of crude, domestic gas inventories, and the Bahri tanker fleet. Facility preparations also encompass backup equipment and the segregation of critical utilities to limit the impact of disruptions. Storage facilities at Ras Tanura. (Aramco) Additional export options Alongside boosting the efficiency of existing infrastructure, Aramco is studying additional options to transport oil to global markets, aiming to reduce reliance on maritime corridors vulnerable to disruption. Nasser stated that the company is exploring alternative routes without disclosing their details, explaining that they will be announced once a final decision is reached. This coincides with a Saudi push to expand oil transport capacity through pipelines. In statements made in October, the Minister of Energy spoke of a target to increase the capacity of oil export pipeline routes to ten million barrels per day, as part of ongoing efforts to bolster supply security. Diversifying crude transport options enables the rerouting of exports when certain pathways are disrupted and mitigates dependence on vital maritime checkpoints, while expanding the pipeline network introduces an additional layer of readiness to counter supply disruptions. Overseas inventories Supply management options during crises are not limited to altering transport routes. Storing crude oil outside the Kingdom allows volumes to be held close to consumer markets, providing greater flexibility in meeting customer needs when shipping lanes are disrupted or tanker arrivals are delayed. Saudi Aramco is actively seeking to expand these options, with its latest step coming via an initial understanding with Singapore. On October 26, Saudi Arabia and Singapore announced an initial understanding to store Saudi crude oil in the Jurong Rock Caverns on Singapore's Jurong Island. The facility is located underground at a depth of around 150 meters, with a total capacity of nearly nine million barrels of liquid hydrocarbons. The storage of Saudi crude oil at the facility is expected to begin during the second half of 2027. Singapore is not the company's only international storage point, as Aramco maintains storage arrangements in Okinawa and Kiire in Japan, Ulsan in South Korea, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and facilities linked to the Sumed pipeline system in Egypt. These strategic locations keep crude close to consumption centers and provide vital alternatives for meeting customer demand during shipping disruptions.
