Oman Postpones Iran-Gulf Arab Foreign Ministers Meeting After Saudi Arabia Shuts East-West Pipeline
GeopoliticsCommodity Impact 4
A meeting of foreign ministers from the Gulf Arab states and Iran, scheduled for September 14 in Salalah, Oman, has been postponed following an attack on Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline. Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, Oman's Foreign Minister, announced on Sunday, September 13, that in the interest of consensus, the regional meeting needed to be postponed. The meeting had aimed to discuss an interim agreement on maritime navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, in order to reduce tensions and restore maritime traffic. Saudi Arabia ordered the shutdown of the East-West Pipeline, a route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, after it was attacked by drones launched from Iraq on Thursday, September 10. Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy described the closure as a precautionary measure, and said the drones originated from Iraq, an area of operations for armed groups backed by Iran. Meanwhile, the Iraqi government ordered the dismissal of the military commander responsible for operations in Maysan Province and launched an operation to track down those behind the attack. The East-West Pipeline is 1,200 kilometers long, has a capacity of 7 million barrels per day, and stretches from the eastern to the western side of Saudi Arabia, linking oil production areas near the Persian Gulf to export terminals on the Red Sea coast. News of the pipeline shutdown sent WTI crude oil prices up 2.8% to 102.87 dollars per barrel, while Brent crude rose 3.1% to 107.87 dollars per barrel in morning trading today.
