Yemen drones hit Saudi oil sites, including key chokepoint

Smoke is seen following a fire at Aramco facility in the eastern city of Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia. [Reuters Photo]

Drone attacks sparked fires at two oil facilities on Saturday, the interior ministry said, the latest such assault claimed by Yemeni rebels following a spike in regional tensions with Iran. Huge palls of smoke rose into the sky after the pre-dawn attacks on and Khurais, two major Aramco facilities in eastern as the state-owned giant prepares for a much-anticipated stock listing.

Drones launched by 's Houthi rebels attacked the world's largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia and another major oil field Saturday, sparking huge fires at a vulnerable chokepoint for global energy supplies.

It remained unclear hours later whether anyone was injured at the Abqaiq and the Khurais oil field or what affect the assault would have on oil production. Rising smoke from the fires at the sites could be seen by satellites in space.

The attack by the Iranian-backed Houthis in the war against a Saudi-led coalition comes after weeks of similar drone assaults on the kingdom's oil infrastructure, but none of the earlier strikes appeared to have caused the same amount of damage. The attack likely will heighten tensions further across the wider Persian Gulf amid a confrontation between the U.S. and Iran over its unraveling nuclear deal with world powers.

First word of the assault came in online videos of giant fires at the facility, some 330 kilometers (205 miles) northeast of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Machine-gun fire could be heard in several clips alongside the day's first Muslim call to prayers, suggesting security forces tried to bring down the drones in the darkness just before dawn.



, the state-owned oil giant, did not respond to questions from The Associated Press. The kingdom hopes soon to offer a sliver of the company in an initial public offering.

In a short address aired by the Houthi's Al-Masirah satellite news channel, military spokesman Yahia Sarie said the rebels launched 10 drones in their coordinated attack after receiving "intelligence" support from those inside the kingdom. He warned that attacks by the rebels would only get worse if the war continues.

"The only option for the Saudi government is to stop attacking us," Sarie said.

The rebels hold Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and other territory in the Arab world's poorest country. Since 2015, a has fought to reinstate the internationally recognized Yemeni government.


"These attacks against critical infrastructure endanger civilians, are unacceptable, and sooner or later will result in innocent lives being lost," U.S. Ambassador John Abizaid, a former Army general, said.


The facility processes sour crude oil into sweet crude, then transports it onto transshipment points on the and the Red Sea or to refineries for local production. Estimates suggest it can process up to 7 million barrels of crude oil a day. By comparison, produced 9.65 million barrels of crude oil a day in July.




While Saudi Arabia has taken steps to protect itself and its oil infrastructure, analysts had warned that Abqaiq remained vulnerable. The Rapidan Energy Group, a Washington-based advisory group, warned in May that "a successful attack could lead to a monthslong disruption of most Saudi production and nearly all spare production."

It called the facility, close to the eastern Saudi city of Dammam, "the most important oil facility in the world."

Abqaiq "is a systemic vulnerability that cannot be quickly repaired, replaced or circumvented," the firm warned.

The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies separately issued its own warning just last month.

"Though the Abqaiq facility is large, the stabilization process is concentrated in specific areas . including storage tanks and processing and compressor trains — which greatly increases the likelihood of a strike successfully disrupting or destroying its operations," the center said.




Contact Us