The Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia's energy facilities on Thursday have caused oil prices to rise, bringing Brent crude futures close to $113.
Details of the Houthi Attacks
The Saudi Ministry of Energy announced on Wednesday that air defense systems intercepted a drone in the Al-Shaybah oil field located in the Empty Quarter, which faces security challenges due to its unique geography. The drone intended to attack a processing facility in this field. Although the drone was shot down outside the field's perimeter, its debris damaged a contractor's vehicle. In this incident, one Filipino and one Nepali citizen were killed, and two other workers, one Pakistani and the other Indian, were injured.
Read more: Iran's Oil Reserves in Shadow Fleet Near Zero
Impact of Attacks on the Oil Market
In another attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, two more people were killed. "Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi," the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), described these attacks as a sign of the Houthis' continued terrorist approach in targeting civilians and vital facilities. These attacks led to a directive from the U.S. State Department for the evacuation of non-essential diplomatic staff to ensure their safety. Saudi Aramco also issued an evacuation order for its headquarters in Dhahran, which had previously faced Houthi attacks.
Although Saudi officials stated that operations at the Al-Shaybah field were not affected by these attacks, the potential for damaging attacks on these facilities drove oil prices upward. The Al-Shaybah field produces one million barrels of oil daily, and the market has faced supply shortages in recent months. Gulf exports only returned to pre-war levels last week.
While the Iranian government claimed that three oil tankers encountered sea mines near the Strait of Hormuz and four other tankers were attacked during ship-to-ship transfer operations in the Arabian Gulf, these claims have yet to be verified. Videos and reports released indicate that four tankers were hit yesterday, but no reports have been published by the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) in the past 24 hours.
Iran's claim of attacks remains unverified, and given that most attacks in the Middle East go unreported, there may be evidence of these attacks. Kpler analysts have confirmed that Iranian oil is no longer contributing to global supply, and its last floating reserves in East Asia have been sold to Chinese buyers. The U.S. energy blockade on Iranian oil has been fully effective in recent months, and the National Iranian Oil Company has not loaded any shipments since August 25.
Read more: Soho Square tanker is heading to the Port of Houston · Missile attacks on King Khalid Airport and Riyadh refinery by Yemeni forces
