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Blazes at major oil facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais brought under control, interior ministry says.
37 minutes ago
According to Aramco, the facility is the world's largest oil processing plant with most oil exported from the Gulf country processed there [Reuters]
Drone attacks have caused fires at two major facilities run by Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil giant.
Citing an interior ministry spokesperson, the official Saudi Press Agency said on Saturday the blazes at the facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais were under control.
"At 4.00am (01:00 GMT) the industrial security teams of Aramco started dealing with fires at two of its facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais as a result of ... drones," it said.
The ministry did not identify the source of the attack and said investigations were ongoing. No one immediately claimed responsibility.
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A Saudi-led military coalition has been battling Yemen's Houthis rebels since March 2015, and the latter have launched similar attacks in the past. Last month, an attack claimed by the Houthis sparked a fire at Aramco's Shaybah natural gas liquefaction facility but no casualties were reported by the company.
The Houthis' Al Masirah TV satellite news channel did not immediately acknowledge Saturday's drone attacks.
Online videos showed smoke rising above the oil giant's facility in Abqaiq as what appeared to be gunfire could be heard in the background.
Saudi Aramco describes its Abqaiq oil processing facility, some 60 kilometres (37 miles) southwest of Dhahran in the kingdom's Eastern Province, as "the largest crude oil stabilisation plant in the world".
The facility processes sour crude oil into sweet crude, then later transports onto transhipment points on the Gulf and the Red Sea. Estimates suggest it can process up to seven million barrels of crude oil a day.
The plant has been targeted in the past - in February 2006, al-Qaeda-claimed suicide bombers tried but failed to attack the oil complex.
The Khurais complex is located about 160km (99 miles) from the capital, Riyadh. It has estimated reserves of more than 20bn barrels of oil, according to Aramco.
There was no immediate effect on global oil prices as markets were closed for the weekend across the world. Benchmark Brent crude had been trading at just above $60 a barrel.
37 minutes ago
According to Aramco, the facility is the world's largest oil processing plant with most oil exported from the Gulf country processed there [Reuters]
Drone attacks have caused fires at two major facilities run by Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil giant.
Citing an interior ministry spokesperson, the official Saudi Press Agency said on Saturday the blazes at the facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais were under control.
"At 4.00am (01:00 GMT) the industrial security teams of Aramco started dealing with fires at two of its facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais as a result of ... drones," it said.
The ministry did not identify the source of the attack and said investigations were ongoing. No one immediately claimed responsibility.
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A Saudi-led military coalition has been battling Yemen's Houthis rebels since March 2015, and the latter have launched similar attacks in the past. Last month, an attack claimed by the Houthis sparked a fire at Aramco's Shaybah natural gas liquefaction facility but no casualties were reported by the company.
The Houthis' Al Masirah TV satellite news channel did not immediately acknowledge Saturday's drone attacks.
Online videos showed smoke rising above the oil giant's facility in Abqaiq as what appeared to be gunfire could be heard in the background.
Saudi Aramco describes its Abqaiq oil processing facility, some 60 kilometres (37 miles) southwest of Dhahran in the kingdom's Eastern Province, as "the largest crude oil stabilisation plant in the world".
The facility processes sour crude oil into sweet crude, then later transports onto transhipment points on the Gulf and the Red Sea. Estimates suggest it can process up to seven million barrels of crude oil a day.
The plant has been targeted in the past - in February 2006, al-Qaeda-claimed suicide bombers tried but failed to attack the oil complex.
The Khurais complex is located about 160km (99 miles) from the capital, Riyadh. It has estimated reserves of more than 20bn barrels of oil, according to Aramco.
There was no immediate effect on global oil prices as markets were closed for the weekend across the world. Benchmark Brent crude had been trading at just above $60 a barrel.
