Published Mon, Sep 14, 2026 · 06:51 AM

OIL rose at market open in Asia on Monday (Sep 14) after Saudi Arabia shut a major crude pipeline following attacks, disrupting a route that has been used to bypass the Strait of Hormuz during the US-Iran war and deepening a global energy crunch.

Brent crude futures rose US$3.62, or 3.46 per cent, to US$108.23 per barrel as of 2214 GMT on Sunday. WTI futures rose US$3.15, or 3.15 per cent, to US$103.20 per barrel.

Saudi Arabia said late on Sep 11 it had halted the East-West pipeline as a precaution after attacks the previous day. There has been no indication of when operations will resume.

On the diplomatic front, a meeting planned for later on Monday between Iran and several Gulf nations on creating a temporary shipping lane through Hormuz was postponed, according to Oman’s foreign minister, Badr Albusaidi. Earlier, Bahrain said it would not attend, citing in part the East-West pipeline strike, while Axios reported that Riyadh also had reservations about the plan.

Traders were also assessing the regional consequences of a rapid military advance by Iranian-backed Houthi militants along Yemen’s Red Sea coast. The push stands to enable the group to exercise greater control over shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb strait, another vital maritime chokepoint.

Crude has rallied 76 per cent in 2026, as the US-Iran conflict spread across the region, curtailing exports and pitching shipping markets into disarray. With Teheran and Washington locked in a struggle over control of Hormuz, the East-West pipeline had become a vital route to sustain export flows.