The oil crisis is worsening.

Saudi Arabia yesterday cancelled some oil deliveries to Europe scheduled for the end of September, following an attack last week – attributed by the Saudi authorities to Iranian-backed Iraqi Shia militias – which forced the closure of the East-West pipeline supplying the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, halfway between the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb (from where a portion of the production is shipped into the Mediterranean, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz). The news reported by Reuters of the suspension of loading operations at the Saudi port, together with reports of the shutdown of three Libyan oil fields caused by protests by oil facility guards and Monday’s Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia, drove a further rise of around $3 in the price of Brent crude yesterday, taking it to $109 a barrel. The Saudi oil pipeline had been one of the main buffers against the impact of the crisis in the Middle East, as it can transport between 4 and 5 million barrels of oil a day (5 per cent of global consumption and 25 per cent of the volume that used to pass through the Strait of Hormuz before the war).

Yesterday, the US Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, told CNBC that he expected the Saudi oil pipeline to reopen within a few days, though he did not provide any estimate of the damage. Satellite images of the pipeline, released in recent days, show a pumping station visibly damaged by the fire that continued to burn after the attacks. Sources consulted by Reuters disagree with Wright on the timeline, although confusion seems to reign supreme: one source is reported to have estimated 5–6 weeks for repairs, whilst another believes it may be possible to resume operations sooner, albeit not at full capacity. For Europe’s energy security, however, the matter is urgent: the shock could quickly push crude oil prices to $120 a barrel, exacerbating an energy crisis that could spread to other prices across the Eurozone.