Saudi pipeline pumping 7 million bpd of oil, bypassing Hormuz, Bloomberg News reports

Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, which circumvents the Strait of Hormuz, is pumping oil at its full capacity of 7 million barrels a day, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Crude oil exports from Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port on the Red Sea have now reached 5 million barrels a day, and the country is also exporting about 700,000 to 900,000 barrels a day of oil products, the Bloomberg report said.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Saudi Arabia’s Aramco declined to comment.

READ MORE: Hormuz alternative oil routes inadequate to cope with demand

Aramco CEO Amin Nasser had told reporters earlier in March on an earnings call that the East-West pipeline was expected to reach its full capacity of 7 million bpd in the coming days as customers re-route.

The conflict in the Gulf region, triggered by U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, has unsettled energy and transport markets and disrupted global shipping.

Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, trapping roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, sending crude oil surging above $100 a barrel.