RIYADH: Drone attacks caused fires in two major Saudi Aramco facilities in the kingdom, the Saudi interior ministry said on Saturday.
Yemen’s Houthi group claimed responsibility for drone attacks on two Saudi Aramco plants in the kingdom’s Eastern Province on Saturday, the group’s military spokesman said on Al-Masirah TV.
The broadcaster said the Houthis had deployed 10 drones against the sites in Abqaiq and Khurais, and the group pledged to widen the range of its attacks on Saudi Arabia, which leads a coalition fighting them in Yemen.
The Arab coalition fighting against the Iran-backed Houthis to reinstate the Yemeni government, said “investigations are ongoing to determine the parties responsible for planning and executing these terrorist attacks.”
“The Coalition continues to adopt and implement necessary procedures to deal with such terrorist threats in order to safeguard national assets, international energy security and ensure stability of world economy,” spokesman Col. Turki Al-Maliki said.
One of the strikes hit the oil company’s Abqaiq facility, which is near Dammam in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, while another attack hit Khurais oil field, a ministry security spokesperson was reported by state news agency SPA as saying.
The US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia John Abizaid said the US “strongly condemns” the drone attacks on Aramco facilities in Abqaiq and Kurais. He added that the attacks “endanger civilians” and “are unacceptable.”
U.S. Ambassador John #Abizaid: “The U.S. strongly condemns today’s drone attacks against oil facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais. These attacks against critical infrastructure endanger civilians, are unacceptable, and sooner or later will result in innocent lives being lost.” pic.twitter.com/ZzDTNUz2Ik
— U.S. Mission to KSA (@USAinKSA) September 14, 2019
The UAE also condemned the attack calling it an “act of terrorism and sabotage” and new evidence of terrorist groups attempting to undermine security and stability in the region.
The Emirates’ foreign ministry said the UAE stands with Saudi Arabia and supports any steps that it takes to protect the security and stability of its civilians.
The security of the UAE and Saudi Arabia are indivisible, the statement said, and any threat to the Kingdom is considered a threat to the UAE.
Aramco’s industrial security teams have controlled the blazes and their spread in Aramco’s two facilities were limited, the ministry added, and further investigations were being undertaken regarding the incidents.
Smoke billows following a fire at the Aramco facility in the eastern city of Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, September 14, 2019. (Reuters)
Abqaiq is located 60 kilometers southwest of Aramco’s Dhahran headquarters. It contains the world’s largest oil processing plant, handling crude from the giant Ghawar field and for export to terminals Ras Tanura — the world’s biggest offshore oil loading facility — and Juaymah. It also pumps westwards across the kingdom to Red Sea export terminals.
A screengrab of a video from social media shows smoke following a fire at the Aramco factory in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)
Khurais, 190 kilometers further southwest, contains the country’s second largest oilfield. The Khurais oil field is believed to produce over 1 million barrels of crude oil a day. It has estimated reserves of over 20 billion barrels of oil, according to Aramco.
Bahrain, Kuwait, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, and the Palestinian foreign ministry also reaffirmed their support for Saudi Arabia and strongly condemned the attack.
The UK condemned “the reckless drone attack” on Saudi Aramco oil facilities and called “upon the Houthis to immediately cease such attacks.”
The UN special envoy for Yemen says he is “extremely concerned” about the drone attack.
Martin Griffiths urged all parties to “prevent such further incidents, which pose a serious threat to regional security, complicate the already fragile situation and jeopardize UN-led political process.”
The Arab League and the Organization for Islamic Cooperation both added their voices to the widespread condemnation.
