Saudi oil pipeline long-term plan provided global energy lifeline during Iran war: PIF governor
ROME: The long-term planning behind Saudi Arabia’s east-to-west oil pipeline provided a lifeline for global energy markets during the Strait of Hormuz closure caused by the war in Iran, Public Investment Fund Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan told the FII Priority Europe summit on Thursday.
Speaking at the Rome summit, Al-Rumayyan commented on the role Riyadh played in rescuing the energy market and global economy, reflecting on the strategic value of the pipeline built across the Saudi Arabian peninsula.
“We had a similar situation back in the 80s where the strait (of Hormuz) performance was threatened with a blockade by the Iran regime, and it was decided since then that we would have a pipeline from east to west (of the Kingdom),” he said.
Al-Rumayyan stressed that while the pipeline provided a “lifeline” for the Saudi economy, “if it wasn’t for this kind of long-term thinking, the world would have been in a really bad situation, even worse than where we were,” due to limited oil reserves worldwide, including in China and the US.
