ISLAMABAD: Saudi crude shipments to Pakistan through the Red Sea have resumed after drone attacks halted a key pipeline, easing shortage fears as regional conflict disrupts the country’s main Middle Eastern supply routes, officials said on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia restarted its East-West Pipeline, which carries crude from oilfields in the Kingdom’s east to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, after attacks forced its closure on Sept. 13 and halted loadings at the export terminal.

The route allows Saudi crude to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has been severely disrupted since war involving the United States, Israel and Iran erupted in February. From Yanbu, tankers bound for Pakistan sail south through the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab Strait before entering the Arabian Sea.

Pakistan, which relies heavily on imported energy, had increased its use of the Yanbu route as reduced traffic through Hormuz complicated supplies from Gulf producers. Industry officials estimate crude shipped through the Red Sea corridor now meets about a quarter of the country’s requirements.

“Yes, refineries have been intimated about resumption of oil supply from Yanbu,” Asad Hasan, chief executive of Karachi-based National Refinery Limited, told Arab News.

“In fact, a cargo for a Pakistani refinery is already loading and its loading will be completed by 9pm tonight,” he added.

Hasan did not identify the refinery receiving the shipment or disclose its volume, vessel or expected arrival date.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that the East-West Pipeline had restarted at a reduced rate, with work underway to restore flows to their previous level of about 4 million barrels per day, equivalent to roughly four percent of global oil supply.

News of the restart helped push benchmark Brent crude down by more than $2 to around $98 a barrel on Tuesday, its lowest level in two weeks, although prices remain elevated amid continuing disruption across the Middle East.

Hasan said Pakistan required between 14 and 16 crude cargoes a month, with approximately four now arriving through the Yanbu-Bab Al-Mandab route.

“We (Pakistan) need about 14-16 cargoes a month, and about four are coming from there,” he said.

He said keeping the Red Sea corridor operational had become important as the country attempted to reduce its dependence on routes affected by the conflict.

“We are looking at options like keeping Yanbu and Bab-al-Mandab open, so crude keeps coming from there. As a country, we need to bring in crude and bring in the molecules,” Hasan said.

Pakistani refineries were also exploring supplies from Africa and the United States, he added, although those efforts had not yet produced firm arrangements.

The development follows weeks of concern over Pakistan’s fuel security as fighting disrupted oil and gas shipments, raised freight and insurance costs and pushed domestic petrol and diesel prices sharply higher.

Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said at the weekend that petrol could reach Rs1,000 ($3.56) per liter if an acute shortage developed, although he presented that figure as a possible consequence rather than a forecast.

Hasan said the remarks had subsequently been interpreted as a warning of an imminent shortage.

“Fuel-wise, shortage concerns aren’t really there. The minister gave it as an example of a consequence of a shortage, but he did not mean it was an actual scenario,” he said.

Additional Petroleum Secretary Zafar Abbas separately said Pakistan had adequate supplies arranged for October and would finalize its requirements for the following month in the coming weeks.

“The supply from Bab-al-Mandab is going on. We have enough fuel for October, while November arrangements will be made during the next month,” Abbas told Arab News.

The government has previously said Pakistan operates with commercial inventories rather than large strategic petroleum reserves, leaving it particularly exposed to prolonged interruptions in crude shipments.

A senior official at another Pakistani refinery, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, described the Red Sea corridor as a “lifeline” after disruption to the country’s principal supply route through Hormuz.

Another industry official said restored supplies would not directly reduce international oil prices but would give refineries greater flexibility and diminish the risk of severe domestic shortages.

“The resumption eases pressure on Pakistani refineries, which previously faced supply constraints and dependencies due to disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.