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Evening edition · Monday, 26 October 2026

ENERGY · DESK NOTE

A pipeline claim, a reserve release and a tank in Singapore

The Houthis say they hit East-West pumping stations; Riyadh has not confirmed damage. Washington lent 400,000 barrels to one refinery. Saudi Arabia will store crude in Singapore from 2027. German power is back at €116.57.

The Houthis said on Monday they attacked pumping stations on Saudi Arabia’s East-West crude pipeline and Riyadh airport1. Saudi Arabia did not immediately confirm the attacks or any damage1. The pipeline, which takes crude from the Gulf side to the Red Sea, was shut for a time in September after drone strikes on pumping stations and then resumed1.

The reserve. In the US, the Energy Department said on Friday it had authorised a release of 400,000 barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, to cover a supply disruption at a Louisiana refinery2. That is a small, targeted loan, which is exactly what a reserve is for.

The tank. Saudi Arabia will start storing crude oil in Singapore from the second half of 2027, the two countries’ energy ministers said on Monday, to make supply in the region more resilient2. Inventory near the customer is the oldest insurance in the trade.

The socket. In Germany, the day-ahead power price averaged €116.57 per megawatt hour for delivery on Monday, after €13.12 on storm-blown Sunday and €30.12 on Saturday3. The wind fell; the price remembered gas. Nothing here is advice.

What to watch

  • Any Saudi statement on the pumping stations1.
  • Tuesday's German day-ahead average, as storm NAOMI's warm front reaches the north-west on Monday evening4.
Desk comment

Strategic reserves, storage tanks and pipelines are boring on purpose. Boring is what keeps a disruption from becoming a shortage.

Sources

  1. Houthis say they attacked East-West oil pumping stations; no Saudi confirmation — Al-Monitor (Reuters), 26 Oct 2026.
  2. Oil slips from near six-months highs despite supply concerns — CNBC (Reuters), 26 Oct 2026, 0232 GMT.
  3. Market data: day-ahead price DE-LU, daily — Bundesnetzagentur / SMARD.de, retrieved 26 Oct 2026, 16:45 CET.
  4. Warnlagebericht für Deutschland — Deutscher Wetterdienst, 26 Oct 2026, 06:37.

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