If Saudi Arabia's critical East-West oil pipeline is not restarted within the next few days, the country faces the risk of completely exhausting its exportable oil reserves.

International oil traders and buyers have warned that this could cause a sudden drop of up to 4 percent in global oil supplies, according to Reuters.

The ongoing US-Israeli war in the Middle East and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz have already triggered a global energy crisis, driving international oil prices to record highs and severely escalating worldwide inflation.

A further reduction in supplies from Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, would push this crisis to extreme levels.

Using the 1,200-kilometer-long East-West pipeline, Saudi Arabia typically transports about 4 million barrels of oil daily to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.

However, with the pipeline shut down due to recent damage, Yanbu port currently retains only enough oil to sustain exports for five to seven days.

According to industry data, while Saudi Arabia holds some oil reserves at Egypt's Ain Sukhna and Sidi Kerir ports in the Red Sea and Mediterranean regions, these will quickly run out unless the pipeline is made operational.

Reuters reported conflicting timelines regarding the repair of the pipeline damage. One source claimed that repair work could take five to six weeks, while another suggested that partial oil pumping through the pipeline might resume sooner.

The Saudi government has not issued an immediate statement on the matter.

Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that maritime route blockades and infrastructure damage caused Saudi oil supplies to plummet to a three-decade low in August.

Prior to the war, Saudi daily production stood at 10.9 million barrels in February, but dropped to just 6.2 million barrels in August.

Overall, the global market could face a deficit of approximately 5.7 million barrels, or 6 percent of daily oil supplies, this year.