Saudi Arabia has shut its East-West oil pipeline after a drone attack, creating another pressure point in an already stressed global energy system. The pipeline carries crude from the eastern oil fields toward the Red Sea and is strategically important because it can bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
The shutdown comes as conflict in West Asia has already disrupted shipping routes and pushed oil prices higher. A second chokepoint problem around the Red Sea would reduce the flexibility available to producers and traders.
India is highly exposed because it imports most of its crude oil. Sustained supply disruptions can feed into inflation, the trade deficit, the rupee and the fiscal cost of energy support.
