Houthi forces from Yemen have just crippled Saudi Arabia’s oil production with a series of coordinated drone strikes on one of the largest oil production facilities in the country.
WSJ:
A coordinated drone strike hit at the heart of Saudi oil production on Saturday, sparking an enormous blaze and forcing the kingdom to shut down about half of its crude output, according to people familiar with matter.
Iran-alled Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen claimed responsibility for what would be one of their largest-ever attacks inside the kingdom.
The Saudi production shutdown amounts to a loss of about five million barrels a day, the people said, roughly 5% of the world’s daily production of crude oil. The kingdom produces 9.8 million barrels a day.
The strikes on facilities in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province mark the latest in a series of attacks on the country’s petroleum assets in recent months, as tensions rise among Iran and its proxies like the Houthis, and the U.S. and partners like Saudi Arabia. The Houthis have also claimed credit for drone attacks on Saudi pipelines, tankers and other infrastructure during a four-year war.
This attack appeared to be the most effective, starting large fires at Hijra Khurais, one of Saudi Arabia’s largest oil fields, and at Abqaiq, the world’s biggest crude stabilization facility. Khurais produces 1.5 million barrels a day while Abqaiq helps produce up to 7 million barrels a day.
A Houthi spokesman said the attack involved 10 drones. Published images of the fire at the Abqaiq facility showed what appeared to be a huge blaze along with plumes of smoke.
“We promise the Saudi regime that our future operations will expand and be more painful as long as its aggression and siege continue,” the spokesman said.
This is undoubtedly going to have a major impact on the oil markets as this is a non-trivial amount of oil production that will no longer be produced. Some are predicting that this is going to cause oil prices to reach $100 a barrel.
It is also a huge blow against the Saudi economy. Their entire economy is based off of oil production so the loss of this facility is a pretty huge deal.
Maybe this event will finally convince these stupid desert dwelling Saudi camel-humpers to back off on this war they’ve been waging in Yemen. They deserve having their oil facilities destroyed considering that they’ve been doing things like blowing up vehicles filled with children in Yemen.
And the fact that the Houthis were able to pull off this attack despite all of the military assets the Saudis have purchased from the United States, speaks volumes about the military capabilities of the Houthis. They are a force to be reckoned with for sure.
