At a time of high geopolitical tension in the Middle East, marked by the conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States, an infrastructure built more than four decades ago regained prominence: the East-West Pipelinealso known as Petroline (pipeline). Since March this year, this Saudi Arabian oil pipeline has become a fundamental part of the stability of global energy markets, with a direct impact on the supply of oil to Europe.
This pipeline, around 1200 kilometers long, crosses the desert of the Arabian Peninsula, connecting the vast oil fields in the east of the country to the port of Yanbu, on the Red Sea. Built in the 1980s, during the Iran-Iraq war, its initial objective was precisely to allow Saudi Arabia to export its oil around the Persian Gulf and the sensitive Strait of Hormuz.
It is worth remembering that the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most important and most vulnerable energy arteries on the planet, between Iran and Oman, serves as an obligatory outlet for most of the oil produced in the countries of this Gulf. Before the current conflict, around 20 million barrels per day of crude oil and petroleum products passed through it, equivalent to approximately a fifth of the world’s oil and a quarter of global maritime oil trade. Since the end of February 2026, with the escalation of the war and the Iranian decision to impose a selective blockade, maritime traffic has reduced by more than 90%, causing Brent prices to soar to levels above US$100.
It is precisely the ability to overcome this bottleneck that makes the East-West Pipeline now indispensable. In mid-March 2026, the pipeline reached its maximum capacity of seven million barrels per day, thanks to the temporary conversion of parallel natural gas liquids lines, a level that includes both crude oil and refined products. Of the seven million barrels currently circulating through Petrolinearound two million are destined for Saudi refineries on the west coast, while the remaining five million are exported through the port of Yanbu.
With this alternative, oil reaching the Red Sea takes two main routes from Yanbu. Go north, through the Suez Canal, towards European and Mediterranean markets, or south, crossing the Bab el-Mandeb towards the Indian Ocean.
The Suez Canal, which connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, allows a shorter and more economical route to Europe, avoiding the circumnavigation of Africa. However, it faces technical limitations, as not all oil tankers are able to cross it, which requires redistribution and consequently additional costs. However, tanker traffic through the Suez increased significantly by a further 47% compared to 2025, reflecting the new dependence on the Saudi alternative route, although the total volume of traffic through the canal remains around 60% below pre-Red Sea crisis levels.
However, although the old continent has drastically reduced its dependence on Middle Eastern oil in recent decades, thanks to diversification into Norwegian, American and African sources and the growing penetration of renewable energies, Saudi crude oil continues to play a relevant role in several countries. THE East-West Pipeline It has thus functioned as a true “safety valve”, helping to avoid an immediate supply disruption and mitigate the initial price shock. However, it is important to emphasize that this solution is far from being sufficient.
From an economic point of view, the effects are already being felt. Oil prices soared, penalizing European families, industry and public budgets. Estimates indicate that a prolonged crisis could cost the European Union billions of additional euros in energy imports, worsening inflationary pressures.
Faced with this scenario, analysts and political decision-makers defend with greater urgency the need to strengthen European energy resilience, accelerating the energy transition. The current crisis dramatically demonstrates the risks of an economy still excessively dependent on hydrocarbons and maritime routes concentrated in unstable regions.
Among the most discussed measures are the accelerated diversification of suppliers, with greater focus on oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States, Canada, Norway and African countries. This will be followed by the reinforcement of storage infrastructure and the expansion of LNG terminals, as well as massive investment in renewable energy. In the long term, reducing dependence on oil means reducing the strategic relevance of these choke points (Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb and Suez), making Europe less vulnerable to geopolitical shocks.
In short, although the Saudi oil pipeline helps to mitigate the more immediate effects of an energy crisis, it does not eliminate the possibility of a sustained increase in prices, nor difficulties in supply. Europe therefore remains exposed to external shocks, even if partially protected by this logistical alternative. THE East-West Pipeline it is not a miracle solution, nor a complete replacement of the traditional Strait of Hormuz route. It is a key piece that, in this time of crisis, has helped to avoid the worst scenario of a total supply disruption.
In an increasingly interdependent and volatile world, infrastructure like this reminds us how geography, engineering and geopolitics continue to shape the global energy balance.
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