16th September, 2019
In several tweets, he warned that the drone attacks at Saudi Aramco’s plants could impact oil prices.
On Sunday oil prices soared in reaction. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures popped up $6.45, or 11.6 percent, to $61.29 per barrel. Brent crude futures soared $7.79, or 13 percent to $68.04.
The Saturday drone attack caused massive fires at two of Saudi Aramco’s largest oil facilities – in Abqaiq and Khurais – halting the daily production of an estimated 5.7 million barrels of crude.
Following the crippling attacks, Saudi Arabia announced that it would restore by Monday a third of the lost oil production after drone attacks on its refining facilities.
According to the Wall Street Journal, citing a source, the situation is purportedly worse than initial assessments made directly following the attack.
Yemen’s Houthi armed political opposition faction claimed responsibility for the attacks, although US State Secretary Mike Pompeo accused Iran of being responsible. Tehran has refuted the US accusation.
In particular, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif slammed Pompeo’s claims as “false” and said that the United States cannot stop the war in Yemen by blaming Iran for everything.
Houthi fighters regularly conduct drone attacks on facilities in Saudi Arabia, as Riyadh has been providing weapons in the air and on the ground to Yemen’s internationally-recognized government since spring 2015.
Saudi Aramco is the state-owned oil giant which operates and controls the majority of the kingdom’s refinery production and oilfields.
Abqaiq is the world’s largest oil processing facility and crude oil stabilization plant with a processing capacity of more than 7 million barrels per day. Khurais is the second-largest oil field in the kingdom, with a capacity to pump around 1.5 million barrels per day. In August, Saudi Arabia produced 9.85 million barrels per day, according to CNBC.