Oil Falls a Fifth Day as Saudi Arabia Restarts Its Export Pipeline
Key Facts
- The country — Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest crude oil exporter. Its East-West pipeline carries barrels to the Red Sea, so they avoid the narrow Strait of Hormuz.
- The background — Drone attacks damaged pumping stations on 13 September 2026 and shut the line. Traders have been pricing Gulf supply risk ever since, rather than any shortage of actual barrels.
- What changed — The pipeline resumed pumping on Tuesday, at a low rate, with Saudi Aramco working to restore flows. That eased the fear of a confrontation choking off Gulf exports.
- What happened — Crude fell for a fifth straight session on Tuesday 22 September 2026. Brent for November settlement closed at US$99.25, down 1.1 percent, its weakest finish since 8 September 2026.
- Who moved — Argentina’s YPF rose 0.32 percent to US$53.35 and Colombia’s Ecopetrol 0.42 percent to US$16.91. Petrobras, the Brazilian state-controlled producer, slipped 0.15 percent to US$20.60.
- What it means for you — Cheaper crude eases fuel import bills. But Latin American oil shares held their ground on Tuesday, so they are not simply a one-way bet on the Brent price.
- Still open — Whether flows return to the pipeline’s pre-attack rate of about 4 million barrels a day, against a stated capacity near 7 million. Tanker freight costs keep climbing.
Today’s Focus
Trade date: Tuesday 22 September 2026.
Global crude fell for a fifth straight session on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia restarted its East-West pipeline, the route that carries its oil to the Red Sea and around the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent for November settlement closed at US$99.25, down 1.1%, according to Bloomberg. The West Texas Intermediate contract for October expired the same day at US$94.59, down 1.2%.
The restart eased fears that Gulf supply would stay bottled up. Even so, the physical market is still tight.
Freight costs for very large crude carriers keep climbing as shipowners avoid the risk zone. United States diesel stocks are at their lowest September level since 1982, Reuters reported.
Latin American energy shares largely held their ground. YPF of Argentina gained 0.32% to US$53.35 and Colombia’s Ecopetrol added 0.42% to US$16.91.
Petrobras, the Brazilian state-controlled producer, slipped 0.15% to US$20.60. That is a flat close rather than a fall in step with crude.
What matters today. The market is trading pipeline logistics and Hormuz risk more than physical barrels. Latin American producer shares are moving on their own account.
01 The session in one read
Oil prices fell for a fifth straight session on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia restarted the East-West pipeline, which had been shut since 13 September 2026 after drone attacks damaged pumping stations.
Reuters reported that the line resumed pumping at a low rate. Saudi Aramco is working to bring flows back towards the pre-attack level.
The restart eased the single biggest fear hanging over the market. That fear was a confrontation choking off Gulf exports and driving prices sharply higher.
Freight and refined product markets still point to tight physical supply. Tanker rates are rising and United States diesel stocks are unusually low for the time of year.
The restart was the session’s dominant bearish catalyst. It outweighed rising tanker freight and falling product inventories.
The line is pumping at a low rate for now. Reuters sources said a full return to the pre-attack flow of about 4 million barrels a day could take weeks.
The variable to watch is the gap between USO and the barrel price. A widening gap would signal that futures positioning, not physical supply, is driving the selling.
02 The board
The United States Oil Fund tracks WTI futures rather than the spot barrel. It fell 2.75% to US$144.08 on Tuesday.
An exchange-traded fund’s return also reflects futures-market pricing and fund structure. That is why its daily move can differ from the headline barrel price.
Latin American producer shares did not follow crude lower. Petrobras closed at US$20.60, down 0.15%, while Ecopetrol added 0.42% to US$16.91 and YPF gained 0.32% to US$53.35.
All three are quoted in United States dollars in New York. Their steadiness therefore came despite the global crude move, not because of it.
| Asset | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| WTI crude (USO) | US$144.08 | -2.75% |
| Petrobras | US$20.60 | -0.15% |
| Ecopetrol | US$16.91 | +0.42% |
| YPF | US$53.35 | +0.32% |
Equity and fund levels: NYSE close, Tuesday 22 September 2026, via RT. Where a commodity has no spot feed, an exchange-traded tracker is shown as a labelled proxy.
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Latin America — Cross-Market Board
+0.44%
187,422.92
+0.44%
64,456.59
+1.45%
11,426.83
+0.61%
2,997,659
-0.04%
2,588.64
+0.90%
59,529.36
+1.84%
| Instrument | Last | Change | YoY | Prev. | High | Low | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBOV | 187,422.92 | +0.44% | +21.85% | 186,595.60 | 168,310 | 167,142 | — |
| IPSA | 11,426.83 | +0.61% | — | 11,357.82 | 11,210 | 10,984 | 1,513,213,483 |
| IPC MEX | 64,456.59 | +1.45% | +12.17% | 63,536.96 | 66,121 | 65,405 | 108,886,187 |
| MERVAL | 2,997,659 | -0.04% | +30.51% | 3,022,485 | 3,042,365 | 2,991,150 | — |
| COLCAP | 2,588.64 | +0.90% | — | 9.04 | 9.05 | 9.02 | 4,133 |
| BVL PERÚ | 59,529.36 | +1.84% | — | — | — | — | — |
| USD/BRL | 5.16 | +0.01% | -5.13% | 5.16 | 5.18 | 5.14 | — |
| EUR/BRL | 5.95 | +1.01% | -5.83% | 5.89 | 5.98 | 5.94 | — |
| USD/MXN | 17.06 | -0.24% | -8.58% | 17.10 | 17.08 | 17.01 | — |
| USD/CLP | 913.98 | +0.04% | -5.67% | 913.65 | 915.11 | 906.68 | — |
| USD/COP | 3,140 | +0.03% | -22.04% | 3,139 | 3,141 | 3,105 | — |
| USD/PEN | 3.36 | -0.66% | -4.82% | 3.38 | 3.38 | 3.35 | — |
| USD/ARS | 1,493 | +0.10% | +12.96% | 1,491 | 1,494 | 1,480 | — |
| USD/UYU | 40.27 | +1.24% | +1.80% | 39.77 | 40.27 | 40.23 | — |
| USD/PYG | 5,939 | +1.68% | -19.54% | 5,841 | 5,939 | 5,925 | — |
| USD/BOB | 11.64 | -0.76% | +72.04% | 11.73 | 11.72 | 11.64 | — |
| USD/DOP | 58.34 | +1.25% | -3.44% | 57.62 | 58.34 | 58.04 | — |
| USD/CRC | 445.92 | +0.89% | -9.71% | 441.97 | 448.50 | 445.92 | — |
03 What moved it
Saudi Arabia restarted the East-West pipeline at a low rate, according to Reuters sources. Aramco is working to return flows to normal.
The corridor is the kingdom’s main route around the Strait of Hormuz. It was carrying about 4 million barrels a day before the attacks, against a stated capacity of about 7 million.
Restoring the pre-attack flow could take weeks, one security source told Reuters. Until then the corridor carries less than it did.
Saudi Arabia leaned on sea routes while the line was down. The kingdom loaded seven supertankers with 14 million barrels from Gulf terminals over the weekend, The National reported.
04 The Latin American read
Petrobras ended the session little changed at US$20.60. The company extended its Equatorial Margin exploration campaign in August with a hydrocarbon discovery at the Morpho well off Amapá, in the Foz do Amazonas basin.
Argentina’s YPF and Colombia’s Ecopetrol both posted small gains. Both had fallen sharply on Monday, so Tuesday looked more like a pause than a rally.
Ecopetrol dropped 4.21% on Monday before recovering 0.42%. YPF fell 3.24% and then added 0.32%.
05 The names to watch
Petrobras is the one to track this week. A New York-traded share holding flat while crude falls is a modest show of strength.
YPF and Ecopetrol recovered only a fraction of Monday’s losses. That suggests investors still read them as leveraged to the global crude tape.
The insulation argument cuts both ways. If Brent climbs again, local currencies and fiscal regimes can cap how much of that gain reaches shareholders.
06 The outlook
The immediate test is how fast Aramco can lift pipeline throughput. A quicker return would further deflate the Hormuz risk premium.
The second test is freight and diesel. If tanker rates stay high and distillate stocks keep falling, the physical market will hold a floor under prices.
Iran has signalled it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the United States eased military pressure, Reuters reported. That would be the largest single bearish development still available to this market.
07 What to watch
- East-West pipeline flow rate: A faster return towards the pre-attack 4 million barrels a day would ease the Hormuz premium further.
- USO versus the barrel price: If the fund keeps underperforming, it signals futures positioning rather than physical supply is driving the selling.
- Tanker freight rates: Persistently high costs would keep physical crude supported even as futures fall.
- United States diesel stocks: Distillate inventories are at their lowest September level since 1982, and a further draw would tighten the fuel market.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did oil fall on Tuesday?
Saudi Arabia restarted its East-West pipeline, easing fears that a Hormuz disruption would trap Gulf exports. It was the fifth straight session of declines.
Why did USO move differently from the barrel price?
USO tracks WTI futures, so its return includes futures-market pricing and fund structure. It does not follow the spot barrel one for one.
What does the pipeline restart mean for Latin America?
It lowers the chance of an immediate price spike and reduces the urgency for non-Gulf supply. That makes Brazilian and Argentine barrels less strategically prized in the short term.
How much oil does the East-West pipeline carry?
It was moving about 4 million barrels a day before the attacks. Its stated capacity is about 7 million barrels a day.
Market data: RT
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. How we use AI · Report an error
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