Saudi Arabia’s Shaybah oil field. File Photo
Sat 17 August 2019:
Energy giant Saudi Aramco says attack caused ‘limited fire’ but no disruption or injuries.
A drone attack claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels has sparked a fire in a remote Saudi oil and gas field but has caused no casualties or disruption to production, state-owned energy company Saudi Aramco said.
“Saudi Aramco’s response team controlled a limited fire this morning at the Shaybah natural gas liquefaction facility,” the energy giant said on Saturday.
“There were no injuries and no interruptions to Saudi Aramco’s oil operations.”
A Houthi military spokesman said earlier on Saturday that the group targeted the Shaybah oil field with 10 drones in what he said was the “biggest attack in the depths” of the kingdom, the world’s top oil exporter.
The Houthis have carried out a spate of cross-border missile and drone attacks targeting Saudi air bases and other facilities in recent months.
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said the latest attack was carried out at 03:20 GMT by “booby-trapped drones”. Saudi Arabia “staunchly condemns” the attack on Shaybah, a “vital facility”, Falih said.
“These acts are not only aimed at Saudi Arabia but also against the global economy,” he added.
Shaybah, which produces about a million barrels of crude oil a day, is located more than 1,000 kilometres from Houthi-controlled territory in northwestern Yemen.
The field sits in the Arabian Peninsula’s Empty Quarter, only a few kilometres from the border with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
On its website, Saudi Aramco refers to the field as “the most remote treasure on Earth,” home to 14.3 billion barrels of oil reserves.
The UAE is Saudi Arabia’s main partner in the Sunni Arab coalition which has been battling the Houthis since 2015 to restore Yemen’s pro-Saudi government driven from the capital Sanaa in late 2014.
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