10 drones deployed against the sites in Abqaiq and Khurais
Saudi interior ministry says blaze in facilities have been contained
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.
One strike 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 spokesperon was reported by state news agency SPA as saying.
The US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia John Abizaid said on Saturday that the US “strongly condemns” the drone attacks on Aramco facilities in Abqaiq and Kurais. He added that the attacks “endanger civilians” and “are unacceptable.”
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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