Drone attacks cause fire at two Saudi Aramco facilities, blaze now under control

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

So about that Saudi Aramco IPO...

Drone attacks cause fire at two Saudi Aramco facilities, blaze now under control

Saturday, 14 September 2019

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior said on Saturday that drone attacks caused fires at two Saudi Aramco facilities, adding that the blazes are under control.

One of the facilities is located in Abqaiq, near Dammam in the Kingdom's Eastern Province. The other facility is located in the Hijrat Khurais oilfield.

“At 4 am on Saturday morning, Aramco’s industrial security teams fought two fires in two of the company’s facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais after they were targeted by drones… the two fires were controlled and contained, and the related authorities have begun investigating,” the ministry said in a statement.

According to an Al Arabiya and al-Hadath correspondent reporting from Abqaiq, the facilities caught on fire after they were hit by drones.

He said that the fires were under control, adding that security officials at the scene have been trying to contain the fires since they started.

No residential areas are located near the sites, the correspondent said, adding that there were no reported casualities.

Last Update: Saturday, 14 September 2019 KSA 11:03 - GMT 08:03

 

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

6 hours earlier:

 

 

A number of assorted videos and comments posted on Twitter, getting updated as info trickles in:

https://mobile.twitter.com/no_itsmyturn/status/1172703067332120576

 

 

[Douglas Buckland + 6,308]

Hmmm....this could get interesting quickly.

[Guest]

''Could''  ??

Future tense ?

Edited September 14, 2019 by Guest

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

"Gunfire in the background"

Saudi Aramco fire: Drones attack world's largest oil processing factory in Saudi

Drones attacked the world's largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia and an oilfield operated by Saudi Aramco early Saturday, the kingdom's Interior Ministry said, sparking a huge fire at a processor crucial to global energy supplies.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks in Buqyaq and the Khurais oil field, though Yemen's Houthi rebels previously launched drone assaults deep inside of the kingdom.

It wasn't clear if there were any injuries in the attacks, nor what effect it would have on oil production in the kingdom. The attack also likely will heighten tensions further across the wider Persian Gulf amid a confrontation between the US and Iran over its unraveling nuclear deal with world powers.

Online videos apparently shot in Buqyaq included the sound of gunfire in the background and flames shooting out of the Abqaiq oil processing facility. Smoke rose over the skyline and glowing flames could be seen a distance away.

The fires began after the sites were "targeted by drones," the Interior Ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency. It said an investigation into the attack was underway.

Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil giant, did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press. The kingdom hopes soon to offer a sliver of the company in an initial public offering.

Saudi Aramco describes its Abqaiq oil processing facility in Buqyaq as "the largest crude oil stabilization plant in the world." The facility processes sour crude oil into sweet crude, then later transports onto transshipment points on the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. Estimates suggest it can process up to 7 million barrels of crude oil a day.

[kshithij Sharma + 78]

Is it staged by Saudi Arabia for making certain claims and accusations - something like false flag attack? Or is it genuine attack?

One has to be cautious while drawing conclusions

[BigJets + 87]

Satellite image 

[wrs + 893]

3 hours ago, Tom Kirkman said:

Estimates suggest it can process up to 7 million barrels of crude oil a day.

If this thing is knocked offline I would say it's not a false flag and it could easily produce a $10 spike in oi.  BIG IF though.

[John Foote + 1,135]

Abqaiq is one heck of a facility. The is quite an extensive expat community there as well. 

If Abqaiq goes off line for more than hours or a few days, the tankers will quit leaving Rastanura. 

Sad, but I suppose inevitable this would happen. Too much violence against Yemen for too long. KSA is a country where there more people of Yemenis descent than Sauds. The only way the Houthis could do such a thing would be support on the ground. 

[wrs + 893]

Houthis say they used ten drones and to expect more attacks like this.

 

A Houthi spokesman told the movement's al-Masirah TV channel that 10 drones had been deployed in the strikes and further attacks could be expected in the future. Past attacks on Saudi infrastructure, including on critical oil installations such as the key East-West crude oil pipeline in May, were also claimed by the Houthis

No worries though, we have plenty of WTL to fill the gap.

Edited September 14, 2019 by wrs

[John Foote + 1,135]

.

Edited September 14, 2019 by John Foote
delete a double

[wrs + 893]

Look at this post from back in may at platts

https://blogs.platts.com/2019/05/20/us-war-iran-unlikely-oil-markets/

 

Abqaiq could be the Achilles’ heel of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry.

Located in the kingdom’s eastern province, the facility filters impurities such as sulfur and gas from around 7 million b/d of crude. This is roughly equal to the country’s entire exports and a volume of readily available crude that is impossible to replace easily.

Destroy it and experts fear an uncontrollable panic would grip oil markets and the global economy.

Saudi Arabia’s enemies also know it. Al Qaeda terrorists went for the jugular in 2006, but were unsuccessful in an attack on the plant.

Since then, the Saudi authorities have beefed up their defenses around Abqaiq to fortress-like proportions with what is effectively a private army guarding the facility. In the wake of the Jihadi attack, state-run Aramco insisted Abqaiq was not critical to its operations, but experts still aren’t convinced.

“If the oil market has a beating heart, it is Abqaiq,” warns McNally.

[wrs + 893]

Wonder how much oil is just being burned and flared from those pipelines?  They have to shut in the source which is Ghawar.  This is really big.

[HermitMunster + 146]

It won't bring back all of those dead Yemeni children.

[Ward Smith + 6,615]

10 minutes ago, HermitMunster said:

It won't bring back all of those dead Yemeni children.

If their parents weren't kicking the tiger, those children would be alive today. 

[HermitMunster + 146]

2 minutes ago, Ward Smith said:

If their parents weren't kicking the tiger, those children would be alive today. 

Umm...no.

[zbest1966 + 10]

How much will oil spike Monday? 

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

Indie updates in the Twitter link below.  I would advise against putting too much stock in Mainstream Media storylines about this, everyone is going to try to spin this to their own advantage.

https://mobile.twitter.com/no_itsmyturn

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

https://mobile.twitter.com/IntelDoge/status/1172920294517956609

[John Foote + 1,135]

Rumor is mostly back on line by Monday.

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

The always - cynical but sarcastically witty Tylers weigh in over on ZeroHedge, with another installment of doom porn:

Oil To Hit $100? Pompeo Blames Iran For "Unprecedented" Drone Attack That Crippled Largest Saudi Oil Processing Facility

... According to Reuters reports the drone attacks will impact up to 5 million bpd of oil production, which suggests that the price of oil - already severely depressed by the recent news that John Bolton is out, making de-escalation with Iran far more likely - is set to soar when trading reopens late on Sunday, just what the upcoming Aramco IPO desperately needs, which in turn has prompted some to wonder if the "Yemen" attack on Saudi Arabia wasn't in fact orchestrated by Saudi interests. 18 years after Sept 11, this shouldn't sound all that outlandish...   

 

[John Foote + 1,135]

Stranger things of happened. I predict by Monday normal production will resume based on chats with friends. But the risk portion of investment will override any possible advantage of a $10 oil bump, which in any event, will be somewhat temporary unless thing really go to hell. Which again will undermine the IPO.

If you wanted to drive down the price of stock, buy up, knowing the price of oil would be higher, and then sell, then it's brilliant. But pre IPO, OMG. Please, a brain transplant.

 

[Zhong Lu + 845]

Here's an interesting thing to consider for anyone willing to short oil:

What's to stop them from doing a second attack? 

Edited September 15, 2019 by Zhong Lu

[Gerry Maddoux + 3,627]

I am not very well informed about repairing something of this magnitude. However, the video shows several fires and the article says several drones attacked. It seems to me that despite automatic cutoff valves and safeguard systems, this would take quite some time to get back on line. 

On the other hand, and at the risk of being labeled a conspiracy theorist, I have to say I'm somewhat skeptical about this whole thing. One thing is almost for sure: this wasn't carried out by a ragtag band of half-starved Houthi rebels, even Yemeni that have been supplied by Iran. So who did it? I'd have to guess an Iranian proxy, which would narrow this down to Hezbollah. 

But even that doesn't make too much sense: Hezbollah attacks Jerusalem like every other day and their Iron Dome defense system stops them. The Saudi air defense system was basically installed by us, meaning the US, and it surprises me that drones could get through it. I'm with the gentleman above: What's to stop them from running a second attack? And a third? Things happen: rupture a large enough tank, get a big enough fire going, trigger a series of explosions and you've got yourself a rodeo.

I hate to say it but I think this is precisely the sort of thing that happens when you fire an Iran hawk like John Bolton, who was apparently incensed beyond belief that al-Qaida had been invited to Camp David only a few days before the anniversary of 9/11, a jihad against America in which 15 Saudis participated. Right or wrong, the Iranians interpret this president as being a dealmaker at any cost.  

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Zhong Lu said:

What's to stop them from doing a second attack? 

On a weekday though please