Saudi Arabia is running tests on its critical East-West oil pipeline, a step toward restoring flows as soon as this week that could revive a major export route bypassing the Strait of Hormuz and ease pressure on global oil prices.

The 750-mile pipeline, which was knocked out by attacks earlier this month, is being tested for structural integrity and pressure, and crude exports from the Red Sea port of Yanbu could restart within a couple of days, according to people familiar with the matter. Saudi Aramco, the state-controlled oil giant that operates the line, didn't immediately comment.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was down 1.6% following reports of the pipeline's potential restart after rising earlier. It wasn't immediately clear how much capacity Aramco can restore at the pipeline, but people familiar with the matter have previously said it could take up to eight weeks to see it operating at full capacity.

The outage reverberated far beyond Saudi Arabia. Since the war with Iran sharply curtailed traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the East-West line has become the kingdom's main escape route from the Persian Gulf, with the kingdom's exports from Yanbu surging to over 4 million barrels a day earlier this summer-an amount equal to roughly 4% of global oil supply.