Support justice-driven, accurate and transparent news — make a quick donation to Truthout today! 

Fears of a global energy shortage are rising amid new revelations about damage inflicted last week on a key oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia.

According to a Monday report in The Associated Press, Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline, which is used to transport oil to the Red Sea, will be shut down for weeks after being hit last Thursday by a drone strike.

Anonymous officials in the region told the AP that repairing damage from the attacks, which the Saudi government has blamed on Iran-backed militias based in Iraq, “could take three to five weeks, including at a major pumping facility.”

The Guardian reported Monday that “Saudi Arabia will run out of oil ⁠stocks for export” if the pipeline isn’t repaired within days, which could lead to “the loss of up to 4% of global supply.”

Satellite photos published on Sunday showed extensive fire damage suffered by a pumping station connected to the pipeline. Saudi Arabia had been using the pipeline to divert oil supplies to the Red Sea and away from the Strait of Hormuz, which........

© Truthout