Airborne attacks target two Saudi oil facilities
RIYADH, March 26, 2022
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy has said that two of its petroleum products distribution stations were targeted by airborne attacks yesterday (March 25) and warned that Kingdom will not be responsible for any shortage in oil supplies to the international markets if such attacks continued.
Global leaders condemned Yemen’s Houthi militia for the attack with the US implicating Iran for enabling the attack by supplying weapons to the group against international law.
“Unprovoked Houthi attacks against Saudi Aramco’s oil storage facilities in Jeddah as well as attacks against civil facilities in Jizan, Najran, and Dhahran are acts of terrorism aimed to prolong the suffering of the Yemeni people,” said Jake Sullivan, the US national security advisor.
US will help strengthen defences
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US will work with the Kingdom to strengthen defences “while also seeking to advance a durable end to the conflict, improve lives, and create the space for Yemenis to determine their own future collectively.”
“At a time when the parties should be focused on de-escalation and bringing needed life-saving relief to the Yemeni people ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, the Houthis continue their destructive behaviour and reckless terrorist attacks striking civilian infrastructure.”
The attacks targeted one stations in North Jeddah and another in Almukhtarah in Jizan. The attacks resulted in no casualties. The facility in North Jeddah and was attacked at 5:25 pm and the Almukhtarah station was attacked at 5 pm.
An earlier statement by the official spokesperson of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, Brigadier General Turki Al-Malki, said “At (1725), Saudi Aramco’s bulk plant in Jeddah was targeted with an act of aggression, the early indications of which suggest that it was targeted by the terrorist, Iran-backed Houthi militia.
"A fire erupted in two tanks in the oil facility; the fire was controlled, and no injuries or loss of life were recorded. This hostile escalation targets oil facilities, and aims to undermine energy security and the backbone of global economy. These hostile attacks had no impact or repercussions in any way, shape or form on public life in Jeddah City.”
Danger to global oil supplies
The Energy ministry spokesperson expressed the Kingdom’s strong condemnation of these assaults. The repeated perpetration of these terrorist crimes against vital installations and civilian objects in the Kingdom constitutes a violation of all international laws and norms, he was quoted as saying by Saudi Press Agency.
The spokesperson repeated that the Kingdom will not be responsible for any shortage in oil supplies to the international markets, while these terrorist attacks by Iran-backed Houthi terrorist militias against its oil facilities continue.
The spokesperson said that the Kingdom warned that the international community should be aware of the danger of Iran’s continuous provision of ballistic missiles and advanced drones, which target the Kingdom’s oil, gas and refining facilities.
The grave effects on the upstream and downstream sector could affect the Kingdom’s production capacity and its ability to fulfill its obligations to the international markets, seriously threatening the security and stability of energy supplies to global markets.
The spokesperson said it has become clear that such attacks of terrorism, and those behind them, do not just target the Kingdom alone, but the security and stability of energy supply to the world, therefore targeting the global economy, especially at these times of extremely sensitive circumstances the world and international energy markets are suffering.
The kingdom calls on all nations and organisations in the world to stand together against such acts of terrorism by groups perpetrating or supporting these attacks, he said.
