The 1,200-kilometer pipeline running across the Arabian Peninsula had helped Saudi Arabia to bypass a shipping logjam in the Strait of Hormuz, where tanker traffic has slowed to a trickle due to the war between the United States and Iran.

Houthis may have struck Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline, with satellite-detected fires reported amid rising tensions.

The pipeline has played a key role in Saudi Arabia’s ability to continue exporting oil following the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz.

Pipeline has been shut 'as a precautionary measure', Saudi energy ministry says