India, Sept. 17 -- Brent crude declined to approach $104 per barrel on Thursday, after two consecutive days of falls amid reports that Saudi Arabia will resume operations of almost half of the East-West pipeline's capacity over several days and fully return the pipeline to operations over six weeks.

The crucial pipeline, which offers an alternative way to move oil aside from the Strait of Hormuz, was damaged in drone strikes last week. For now, Saudi Arabia is working hard to increase crude transportation via Hormuz with help from US forces.

Separately, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright noted that 18 million barrels of crude and refined products were transported through Hormuz earlier in the week. In the US, crude oil inventories fell...