Oil price falls to $98 as Saudi Arabia signals reopening of East-West pipeline

“If only a quarter of the flows through the pipeline were restored, no extra oil would be exported, since the flows would be used in Saudi Arabia’s own refineries on the west coast. If 40 per cent of the pipeline’s capacity is restored, there will be an additional 1mn barrels a day of crude on the market.” — June Goh, Senior Oil Analyst at Sparta.

• Expert: June Goh (Senior Oil Analyst, Sparta)
• Publication: Financial Times
• Market Focus: Crude Oil, Saudi Crude Exports, Refining Economics
• Geographies: Saudi Arabia, Middle East, Europe

In a recent analysis for the Financial Times, Sparta’s Senior Oil Analyst, June Goh, flagged that the extra crude reaching the market from Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline restart hinges on how much capacity actually comes back online. Restore only a quarter of the line’s flows, she noted, and no additional oil gets exported at all, since that volume is absorbed by Saudi Arabia’s own refineries on the west coast. Restore 40% of the pipeline’s roughly 7mn b/d capacity, however, and an extra 1mn barrels a day of crude would hit the market. European refiners have already been told they won’t receive the Yanbu cargoes allocated for October, while loadings at the Gulf port of Juaymah have jumped fivefold since August as Saudi rerouted exports through the Strait of Hormuz. Traders should watch how much capacity is actually restored this week, since that threshold decides whether this is a real supply release or barely moves the needle.

[Read June Goh’s full commentary in the Financial Times]

About the Author
 June Goh | Senior Oil Analyst, Sparta Commodities
June is a senior oil market analyst at Sparta specialising in global crude trade flows and refining economics across Asia and Europe. Her analysis is regularly cited by Bloomberg, the Financial Times, and Reuters. With a significant following in the energy community on X (@JuneGoh_Sparta), June’s insights are a staple for institutional traders navigating regional market shifts.
Connect: LinkedIn / X

About Sparta
Sparta is the AI leader for commodity trading, home to Leonidas AI, the first decision-making engine for oil and commodity traders. Backed by USD 42 million in Series B funding led by One Peak, with participation from returning investors FirstMark and Singular, the same investors behind AI leaders like Legora, Dataiku, and Synthesia. From independents to multinationals, the world’s leading commodity teams use Sparta and Leonidas AI to move faster, trade smarter, and stay ahead of the market.

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