With Saudi Pipeline Shut and Hormuz Blocked, China's Oil Imports Face a New Squeeze

According to Al Jazeera on Wednesday, September 17, 2026 (26 Shahrivar 1405), Saudi Arabia has shut its strategic East-West pipeline, an important route for moving oil to China and other Asian markets, following an attack by an Iran-aligned group in Iraq, while disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has also curbed exports from the Persian Gulf. With both main routes for Middle Eastern oil to China now blocked, Chinese refiners have had to search more broadly for supplies, which analysts say is adding pressure to global oil prices.

Citing Reuters, Al Jazeera reported that before the war China was importing about 12 million barrels of crude a day and producing another 4.4 million domestically, building stockpiles to roughly 1.4 billion barrels by the end of last year; but according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), China's crude imports averaged 8.1 million barrels a day in the second quarter of this year, down about 4 million barrels a day, or 32 percent, from the first quarter.

According to Kpler data cited in the report, China's seaborne oil imports from Russia reached 1.68 million barrels a day in August, up from 1.4 million in July and the highest level since March.