Two pump stations connecting the East-West pipeline, a core crude oil transportation infrastructure in the world's largest oil exporter Saudi Arabia, have been damaged, and their restoration schedule remains unclear, Reuters reported on the 16th (local time), citing three sources in the oil and security sectors.

Aramco, the Saudi state-owned oil company that operates the 1,200-kilometer-long pipeline crossing the Arabian Peninsula, did not respond to requests for comment.

The Saudi government's Center for International Communication also did not immediately provide a response.

Saudi authorities previously stated that operations of the pipeline, which has played a role in easing crude oil transportation congestion in the Strait of Hormuz, were temporarily suspended immediately after it was hit by a drone attack launched from Iraq.

Oil prices surged as concerns over global crude oil supplies grew due to the suspension of pipeline operations.

(Photo: Vantor, AP, Yonhap News)