U.S. Blames Iran for Attack on Saudi Oil Fields
Breaking News:
*U.S Blames Iran for Attack on Saudi Oil fields
* There is “no evidence the attacks came from Yemen” – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
* Pompeo blames Iran for “unprecedented attack” on the world’s energy supply
(Article below will update)
Coordinated drone strikes on the heart of the Saudi oil industry forced the kingdom to shut down half its crude production on Saturday, people familiar with the matter said, potentially roiling petroleum prices and demonstrating the power of Iran’s proxies.
Yemen’s Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels claimed credit for the attack, saying they sent 10 drones to strike at important facilities in Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich Eastern Province. The 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.
Officials said they hoped to restore production to its regular level of 9.8 million barrels a day by Monday.
- Drone attacks sparked fires at Aramco oil facilities in eastern Saudi Arabia today
- Attacks took place at 4:00am at world’s largest oil processing plant Abqaiq
- The Saudi interior ministry said the fires have now been brought under control
- Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for attacks in Buqyaq and Khurais
- Tensions are running high in the region after attacks in June and July on oil tankers in Gulf waters that Riyadh and Washington blamed on Iran
Update: The WSJ is out with an update hinting at just how much the price of oil is set to soar when trading reopens late on Sunday after the Saudi Houthi false-flag drone attack on the largest Saudi oil processing plant:
Saudi Arabia is shutting down about half of its oil output after apparently coordinated drone strikes hit Saudi production facilities, people familiar with the matter said, in what Yemen’s Houthi rebels described as one of their largest-ever attacks inside the kingdom.
The 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.
And while Aramco is assuring it can restore output quickly, in case it can’t the world is looking at a production shortfall of as much as 150MM barrels monthly, which – all else equal – could send oil soaring into the triple digits. Just what the Aramco IPO ordered.
Supply loss from KSA may be as high as 150 MM barrels/month. Oil may hit $100.
— Krishnan Viswanathan (@kxviswan123) September 14, 2019
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