More terrorism in the Middle East by Iranian proxies, this time aimed at Saudi oil supplies, possibly for the second time this week.
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said in a statement Tuesday that a terrorist attack targeted two oil pumping stations in Saudi Arabia.
The country’s oil production was not interrupted, however, according to al-Falih’s statement, published by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The attacks, carried out with bomb-laden drones, damaged two oil pumping stations west of Riyadh, at Dawadmi and Afeef, for Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline.
Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain condemned the attack. A statement by Egypt’s foreign ministry said Cairo is coordinating with Riyadh to face “terror and all threats to its national security.”
The fire caused by the explosives meanwhile has been contained, SPA reported; oil production was not interrupted, and oil and gas supplies to Europe were not affected, according to state oil company Saudi Aramco. No casualties were reported.
Oil prices nevertheless rose sharply Tuesday morning in the wake of the attacks, as oil pumping in the pipeline was halted while the damage was being evaluated and the stations were being repaired.
The 1,200-kilometer pipeline, which has a capacity of at least five million barrels per day, carries crude from Saudi Arabia’s main eastern oil fields to the Red Sea port city of Yanbu in the west.
“This act of terrorism and sabotage in addition to recent acts in the Arabian Gulf do not only target the Kingdom but also the security of world oil supplies and the global economy,” said al-Falih, according to SPA.
The Yemeni Houthi-run Masirah TV channel claimed Tuesday the Iranian-backed proxy group had launched drone attacks on “vital Saudi installations.”