DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemeni Houthi rebels launched one of their most intense drone and missile strikes on Saudi Arabia’s critical energy sites on Sunday, causing a fire at one facility and temporarily shutting down oil production at another.
The salvo marked a major escalation in rebel attacks on the kingdom as the war in Yemen rages into its eighth year and peace talks stall.
The attacks did not cause casualties but hit facilities belonging to one of the world’s most important energy companies and damaged civilian cars and homes, according to the Saudi-led military coalition fighting in Yemen. The coalition also said it had destroyed a drone boat loaded with explosives sent by the Houthis in the busy southern Red Sea.
Hours after oil giant Aramco CEO Amin H. Nasser told reporters that the attacks had not affected oil supplies, the Saudi Energy Ministry admitted that a drone strike on Yanbu Aramco’s Sinopec oil refinery caused “a temporary reduction in production at the refinery “.
The disruption caused by a surge in oil prices in an already tight energy market “will be offset by reserves,” the ministry said without elaborating.
Another air attack later that day hit a fuel tank at an Aramco distribution station in the port city of Jeddah and started a fire.
The relentless wave of strikes revealed the increasing reach and accuracy of the rebels, as well as the constant breaches in the kingdom’s air defenses. A sophisticated 2019 strike on Aramco’s oil facilities cut half the kingdom’s oil production and threatened to spark a regional crisis, an attack the US and Riyadh later claimed came from Iran.
Sunday’s attacks came after Saudi state-backed Aramco, the world’s biggest oil company, announced that its profits rose 124% in 2021 to $110 billion, spurred by renewed fears of a global supply shortage and rapidly rising oil prices.
Aramco, also known as Saudi Arabian Oil Co., posted its full-year profit after weeks of strong energy market volatility caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
International benchmark Brent oil jumped more than $107 on Sunday after nearing a peak of $140 earlier this month. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have so far resisted Western calls to increase oil production to make up for the loss of Russian oil due to skyrocketing gasoline prices.
Yehya Sari, a spokesman for the Iranian-backed Yemeni Houthis, said the rebels launched a “broad and massive military operation” in retaliation for the Saudi-led “aggression and blockade” that turned much of Yemen into a desert.
The escalation follows a flurry of diplomacy over the weekend in the Omani capital Muscat. UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg met with the Houthi chief negotiator and Omani officials to discuss “a possible truce during the holy month of Ramadan” in early April, the UN mission said.
The White House condemned the attacks, accusing Iran of supplying the Houthis with missile and drone parts, as well as training and experience.
“The time has come to end this war, but this can only happen if the Houthis agree to cooperate with the UN,” US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said. “The United States fully supports these efforts.”
The Saudi-led military coalition reported air strikes on a number of sites: Aramco’s liquefied natural gas plant at Yanbu port on the Red Sea, an oil storage facility in Jeddah, a desalination facility at Al-Shaqiq on the Red Sea coast, and an Aramco liquefied natural gas plant. an oil facility in the southern border town of Jizan, among other things.
The extent of the damage to Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure remains unclear, and the ministry said only the Yanbu refinery experienced a temporary drop in productivity. A $10 billion joint venture between Aramco and China, Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Company in the Red Sea, produces 400,000 barrels of oil per day.
The Saudi Arabian Press Agency has shared photos of fire engines dousing the flames with water and a trail of rubble left by shrapnel that pierced ceilings and holes in the walls of apartments. Other images showed wrecked cars and giant sinkholes in the ground.
The shelling comes days after the Saudi-based Gulf Cooperation Council invited the Yemeni belligerents to peace talks in Riyadh, an offer that was promptly rejected by the Houthis, who demanded that the talks take place in a “neutral” country.
Negotiations have stalled since the Houthis attempted to take over the oil-rich Marib, one of the last remaining strongholds of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government in the country’s north.
A brutal war broke out in Yemen in 2014 after the Iranian-backed Houthis captured the country’s capital, Sana’a. Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a devastating air campaign to oust the Houthis and restore an internationally recognized government.
But years later, the war reached a bloody stalemate and led to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Coalition airstrikes have hit civilian targets in Yemen such as hospitals, telecommunications centers and wedding celebrations, drawing widespread international criticism.
Repeated cross-border attacks by the Houthis have shaken global energy markets and raised the risk of disruption to production at Aramco facilities.
In its 2021 report, Aramco said it has delivered on its promise to pay an $18.75 billion quarterly dividend — $75 billion last year — because of commitments the company made to shareholders ahead of its initial public offering. Almost all dividends go to the government of Saudi Arabia.
Despite growing efforts by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to diversify the Saudi economy to avoid oil, the kingdom remains heavily dependent on oil exports to fuel government spending.
Building on revenue growth in 2021, Aramco said it expects to increase its capital expenditures to $40-50 billion this year to meet rising energy demand, up from last year’s $31.9 billion dollars.
Aramco shares rose more than 3% on Sunday and traded on Riyadh’s Tadawul Stock Exchange at around 43.20 rials ($11.50) per share.
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Associated Press contributors Samy Magdy of Cairo and Tom Strong of Washington contributed to this report.