The impact of the Saudi East-West oil pipeline closure on Asian crude oil imports is becoming apparent, with South Korea being the most directly affected.

The closure of Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline is expected to exacerbate supply tightness for Asia's four largest crude oil importers, with South Korea being the most directly impacted. According to data from the Korea International Trade Association, Saudi crude accounted for 34.1% of South Korea's crude oil imports in July. For Japan, China, and India, these percentages were 27.3%, 14.9%, and 10.2%, respectively.

Thomas Luedi, Bain & Company's Head of Energy & Natural Resources for Asia-Pacific, estimates that the total affected Asian crude oil supply is approximately 4 million barrels per day. Oriano Lizza, a sales trader at CMC Markets, predicts that once crude oil inventories in Yanbu and Egypt are depleted, the affected volume will be between 3.5 million and 4.5 million barrels per day. Matt Smith, Lead Oil Analyst at Kpler, noted that if the pipeline remains closed for a month and Yanbu port inventories are exhausted, the oil market would lose 120 million barrels. Repair work could take three to six weeks, but Saudi Arabia has not yet provided a clear timeline. Analysts believe that refiners will immediately feel rising costs in the short term, rather than a physical shortage, primarily reflected in higher premiums for medium and heavy crude oil and increased freight rates.