SAUDI ARABIA – FOLLOWING drone attacks on two major oil facilities, Saudi Arabia has decreased oil and gas production.
The attacks targeted two institutions run by the state-owned company Armco.
Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the strikes had reduced crude oil production by 5.7 million barrels a day – about half the kingdom’s output, according to the BBC.
A Yemeni Houthi rebel spokesman said it had deployed ten drones in the attacks.
But the BBC reported that the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed the attacks on Iran saying there was no evidence they came from Yemen.
The Saudis lead a Western-backed military coalition supporting Yemen’s government, while Iran backs the Houthi rebels.
In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Prince Abdulaziz said the attacks “resulted in a temporary suspension of production at Abqaiq and Khurais plants.”
He said that part of the reduction would be compensated for by drawing on Aramco’s oil stocks, the BBC reported.
The situation was under control at both facilities, Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said, adding that no casualties had been reported in the attacks.
In a tweet, Pompeo described the attack as “an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply.”
