Saudi Arabia's oil output decimated by drone attack
POMPEO BLAMES IRAN FOR DRONE & MISSILE ATTACK ON SAUDI OIL REFINERIES;
TRUMP AWAITS SAUDI ASSESSMENT
BY WARREN MASS
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:
The Trump administration has issued strong statements following the September 14 coordinated strikes on the world’s largest oil processing facility and a nearby oil field in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Interior Ministry was quoted by state-run media as saying that the Abqaiq oil processing facility in Buqyaq and the nearby Khurais oil field operated by Saudi Aramco were “targeted by drones.” The Iranian-backed Houthi militia claimed responsibility for the strikes.Soon after the strike, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (shown on left) charged that Iran was behind what he called “an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply” and asserted that there was “no evidence the attacks came from Yemen.”“Tehran is behind nearly 100 attacks on Saudi Arabia while [President Hassan] Rouhani and [Foreign Minister Mohammad] Zarif pretend to engage in diplomacy....” Pompeo tweeted. "There is no evidence the attacks came from Yemen."An NPR report on September 15 quoted a statement from Iran denying accusations made by Pompeo that it was behind the drone attacks on the Saudi oil refineries and that Tehran was responsible for “an unprecedented attack on the world's energy supply.”Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, said in a tweet on September 15 that Pompeo was turning from “max pressure” to “max deceit.”The New York Times reported on September 15 that administration officials said a combination of drones and cruise missiles — “both and a lot of them,” the report quoted one senior U.S. official — might have been used.Trump did not name Iran, however, saying in a tweet on September 15 that he needed to consult with Saudi Arabia first.Following the attacks, the Saudis shut down half of their oil output facilities, which amounts to a loss of about five million barrels a day — roughly five percent of the world’s daily production of crude oil. As a result, U.S. oil futures spiked by over 10 percent, as investors anticipated that the Saudi supply would be at least temporarily reduced by the attack.Fox News reported on September 14 that Houthi rebels — who are backed by Iran in a years-long Saudi-led war against them in Yemen — have reportedly claimed responsibility for the attacks and said that further attacks could be expected in the future.Houthi spokesman Yahia Sarie said in a short address aired by Houthi’s Al-Masirah satellite news channel that the group launched 10 drones in a coordinated attack on the sites. “The only option for the Saudi government is to stop attacking us,” he added.A September 15 Bloomberg report cited two unnamed senior U.S. administration officials who said that there is no doubt Iran was behind the attacks on Saudi oil, claiming that there is evidence that the location and weapons used were beyond the capability of the Houthi rebels in Yemen who claimed responsibility.The officials, who asked not to be identified discussing internal deliberations, said evidence suggests that cruise missiles were used in Saturday’s attacks, and that one of the locations hit — the world’s largest crude-processing facility in Abqaiq — was beyond the range of the rebels’ known weaponry.Related articles:______________________________________________________________Drone Strikes in Saudi Arabia Wipe Out 5%
of Global Oil Supply
Entire spare capacity of the world taken outBY PAUL JOSEPH WATSONSEE: https://summit.news/2019/09/16/drone-strikes-in-saudi-arabia-wipe-out-5-of-global-oil-supply/;
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:Drone attacks on two critical production facilities in Saudi Arabia wiped out over 5% of the world’s oil supply in one go, eliminating the spare capacity of the entire globe.The attacks, which targeted an oil processing facility at Abqaiq and the nearby Khurais oil field knocked out 5.7 million barrels of daily crude production, a whopping 50% of Saudi Arabia’s entire oil output.“This incident effectively eliminates the world’s spare capacity,” said Sarah Cottle, global head of market insight at S&P Global Platts.The attacks led at one point to oil prices spiking by 19%, the biggest leap since 1991.Despite Houthi rebels fighting Saudi forces in Yemen taking credit, The Trump administration immediately indicated that it may be about to blame Iran.“Saudi Arabia oil supply was attacked. There is reason to believe that we know the culprit, are locked and loaded depending on verification, but are waiting to hear from the Kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed!” tweeted President Trump.The irony of military action against Iran at this point is the fact that Trump just fired one oft he biggest cheerleaders for precisely that, John Bolton.War with Iran could be potentially catastrophic for the world and would see Trump reverse yet another of his campaign promises, the vow to not get entangled in any more Middle Eastern quagmires.______________________________________________________________Mission Iran, God Bless Our Troops
