London — A Saudi Aramco petroleum product distribution terminal in Jazan, near the border with Yemen, was hit by a projectile March 25, causing a fire in a storage tank, the Saudi energy ministry said, in the latest attack targeting its facilities.
The strike occurred at 9:08 pm (1808 GMT) and caused no casualties, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
“Such acts of sabotage target the security of energy supplies,” the statement said. “The attack does not only target the kingdom, but also petroleum exports, the stability of energy supply to the world, freedom of world trade, as well as the global economy.”
The strike comes three weeks after Saudi forces intercepted a missile on March 4 in Jazan, a port city in Saudi Arabia’s far southwest, where Aramco is readying a 400,000 b/d refinery.
That missile was claimed by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have stepped up their attacks against Saudi Arabia in recent weeks.
On March 19, Saudi officials said Aramco’s 140,000 b/d Riyadh refinery was hit by a missile, causing fires. The facility is being brought back online, Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said two days later.
On March 7, a drone attack targeted an Aramco tank farm at the port of Ras Tanura, which exports most of the company’s crude.
Saudi Arabia and Iran are locked in a seven-year proxy war in Yemen, which has caused a humanitarian and political crisis. Saudi Arabia on March 22 offered to enact a ceasefire and to ease the air and sea blockade it has imposed on Houthi territory, but Houthi commanders have so far been cool to the deal.
Source: S&P Global
