Chinese crude oil prices have climbed to record highs following attacks on a Saudi Arabian pipeline, according to a Financial Times report, extending a repricing of supply risk along one of the world's most heavily trafficked crude corridors.

The attack on the Saudi pipeline infrastructure pushed Chinese benchmark crude futures to levels never previously traded, traders cited by the Financial Times said. The move marks a fresh high for the contract since its launch on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE), the pricing point that Gulf producers increasingly reference when selling into the world's largest crude-importing market.

The rally follows a direct strike at East-of-Hormutz flow capacity: the targeted Saudi pipeline serves as a bypass route for crude exports normally shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, carrying barrels to the kingdom's Red Sea terminals. Any sustained outage on that line narrows Saudi Aramco's ability to reroute volumes around the chokepoint, tightening effective spare capacity available to Asian refiners.

Chinese refiners, which draw heavily on Saudi medium and heavy crude for their complex secondary units, face the sharpest exposure. Coastal teapot and state-run complexes alike price their feedstock against both the INE contract and Middle East benchmark grades, and the record print signals that Asian buyers are already paying up for security of supply.

Price moves of this kind remain market analysis rather than settled fact. The Financial Times framing attributes the spike to the pipeline attack; how much premium persists will depend on how quickly Saudi Aramco restores full throughput on the damaged line and whether follow-on incidents occur.

The watch item is Saudi Arabia's repair timeline and any statement from Aramco on line capacity. If restoration is measured in days, the record premium could fade quickly; if weeks, Asian refining margins — already squeezed at the crack — will absorb the difference.