Drone attacks spark fires at Saudi Arabia’s largest oil facilities
- No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks in Buqyaq and the Khurais oilfield
- The Saudi Interior Ministry said an investigation was under way
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks in Buqyaq and the Khurais oilfield, though Yemen’s Houthi rebels previously launched drone assaults deep inside of the kingdom.
It was not clear if there were any injuries in the attacks, nor what effect it would have on oil production in the kingdom.
Online videos apparently shot in Buqyaq included the sound of gunfire in the background and flames shooting out of the Abqaiq oil processing facility. Smoke rose over the skyline and glowing flames could be seen a distance away.
The fires began after the sites were “targeted by drones”, the Interior Ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency. It said an investigation into the attack was underway.
Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil giant, did not immediately respond to press questions. The kingdom hopes soon to offer a sliver of the company in an initial public offering.
Saudi Aramco describes its Abqaiq oil processing facility in Buqyaq as “the largest crude oil stabilisation plant in the world”.
The facility processes sour crude oil into sweet crude, then later transports onto transshipment points on the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. Estimates suggest it can process up to 7 million barrels of crude oil a day.
The plant has been targeted in the past by militants. Al-Qaeda-claimed suicide bombers tried but failed to attack the oil complex in February 2006.
There was no immediate impact on global oil prices as markets were closed for the weekend across the world. Benchmark Brent crude had been trading at just above US$60 a barrel.
Buqyaq is about 330km (205 miles) northeast of the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
While no group immediately claimed the attacks, suspicion immediately fell on Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
A Saudi-led coalition has been battling the rebels since March 2015. The Iranian-backed Houthis hold Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and other territory in the Arab world’s poorest country.
