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CommoditiesMediumUpdated•Originally published 14 September 2026•Updated 14 September 2026•
2 min read

Brent Eases to $106.72 After Topping $108 as Saudi Supply Risks Mount

Key Facts

1Brent traded at $106.72, up 2.02%, at 06:30 Greenwich time on September 14, 2026, after topping $108.
2Saudi Arabia shut the East-West pipeline as a precaution after attacks on September 10, 2026.
3The pipeline's maximum capacity was 7.0 million barrels per day, and it recently carried about 4 million to 5 million barrels per day, equal to 4% to 5% of global supply.
4The Houthis captured Mokha on September 10, 2026, and Mayun on September 11, 2026, increasing risks near Bab el-Mandeb without establishing complete control of the strait.

Brent pared its advance to $106.72 a barrel at 06:30 Greenwich time on September 14, 2026, up 2.02%, after topping $108 in earlier trading. WTI gained 2.1% to $102.15 as traders assessed new attacks on Saudi targets and Gulf shipping alongside the closure of a major pipeline.

Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry said the East-West pipeline was shut as a precaution after multiple attacks in the Riyadh and Madinah regions on the morning of September 10, 2026. The closure was announced on September 11, while emergency and technical teams moved to secure the line and assess its integrity.

Independent reports said the temporary closure followed a drone attack. The 1,200-kilometer pipeline carries crude from eastern Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, giving the kingdom an export route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz when shipping there is disrupted.

The East-West pipeline reached a maximum capacity of 7.0 million barrels per day in the first quarter of 2026, according to Aramco. It had recently been moving about 4 million to 5 million barrels per day, equal to 4% to 5% of global supply, according to estimates reported by Reuters; its shutdown does not automatically remove that entire volume because the impact depends on the outage duration, inventories and alternative export routes.

The pipeline crisis coincided with the Houthis' capture of Mokha on September 10, 2026, and Mayun Island inside Bab el-Mandeb on September 11, 2026. Those gains increase their ability to threaten nearby shipping but do not establish complete control over all traffic through the strait.

Shipping through Bab el-Mandeb remained about 60% below levels seen before late 2023. As risks increased, about 70% of Yanbu crude exports headed north through the Suez Canal or an Egyptian pipeline, according to data reported by the Associated Press; the risk premium will therefore be influenced by the East-West pipeline's restart, security at Bab el-Mandeb and Hormuz, and the availability of alternative routes.