RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Aramco has emerged from attacks on its oil facilities "stronger than ever," Chief Executive Amin Nasser told employees in a message, adding that full oil production would resume by the end of this month.
The Sept. 14 attacks on the Abqaiq and Khurais plants, some of the kingdom's biggest, caused raging fires and significant damage that halved the crude output of the world's top oil exporter, by shutting down 5.7 million barrels per day of production.
"The fires that were intended to destroy Saudi Aramco had an unintended consequence: they galvanized 70,000 of us around a mission to rebound quickly and confidently, and Saudi Aramco has come out of this incident stronger than ever," Nasser said in the internal message, on the occasion of the Saudi national day, to be celebrated on Sept. 23.
"Every second counts in moments like these, and had we not acted quickly to contain the fires and undertake rapid restoration efforts, the impact on the oil market and the global economy would have been far more devastating."
Six days after the assault, which hit at the heart of the Saudi energy industry and intensified a decades-long struggle with arch-rival Iran, the state oil giant invited reporters on Friday to observe the damage and the repair efforts.
Thousands of employees and contractors have been pulled from other projects to work around the clock to bring production back. Aramco is shipping equipment from the United States and Europe to rebuild the damaged facilities, Aramco officials told reporters.
Aramco already brought back part of the lost production and will return to pre-attacks level end of September, Nasser said.
"Not a single shipment to our international customers has been missed or canceled as a result of the attacks, and we will continue to fulfill our mission of providing the energy the world needs," he said in the message seen by Reuters.
Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia had used its reserves to maintain oil supply flows to customers abroad and inside the kingdom.
Yemen's Houthi group claimed responsibility for the attacks but a US official said they originated from southwestern Iran. Tehran, which supports the Houthis, has denied any involvement in the attacks.
Saudi Arabia says 18 drones and three missiles were fired at Abqaiq, the world's largest oil processing facility, while the Khurais facility was hit by four missiles.
No casualties were reported at either site even while thousands of workers and contractors work and live in the area.
soure: news.abs-cbn.com
DUBAI/JEDDAH - Iran warned US President Donald Trump on Thursday against being dragged into all-out war in the Middle East following an attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities which Washington and Riyadh blame on Tehran.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has described the weekend strike that initially halved Saudi oil output as an act of war and has been discussing possible retaliation with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies.
Trump on Wednesday struck a cautious note, saying there were many options short of war with Iran, which denies involvement in the Sept. 14 strikes. He ordered more sanctions on Tehran.
Iran's foreign minister told CNN the Islamic Republic "won't blink" if it has to defend itself against any US or Saudi military strike, which he said would lead to "all-out war."
Mohammed Javad Zarif earlier accused Pompeo of being part of a so-called "B-team," which Tehran says includes Saudi Arabia's crown prince and is trying to dupe Trump into opting for war.
Pompeo said on Wednesday that the attack was "of a scale we've just not seen before."
"The Saudis were the nation that were attacked. It was on their soil. It was an act of war against them directly," he told reporters before meeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Riyadh, which described the assault as a "test of global will," on Wednesday displayed the remnants of 25 Iranian drones and missiles it said were used in the strike as undeniable evidence of Iranian aggression.
The Saudi ambassador to Berlin said "everything is on the table," telling Deutschlandfunk radio that options need to be discussed carefully.
The United Arab Emirates on Thursday followed its main Arab ally Saudi Arabia in announcing it was joining a global maritime security coalition that Washington has been trying to build since a series of explosions on oil tankers in Gulf waters in recent months that were also blamed on Tehran.
Pompeo, who arrived in the UAE from Saudi Arabia on Thursday for talks with Abu Dhabi's crown prince, welcomed the move on Twitter: "Recent events underscore the importance of protecting global commerce and freedom of navigation."
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement, which is battling a Saudi-led military coalition, claimed responsibility for the assault on two Saudi oil plants, including the world's largest processing facility. US and Saudi officials rejected the claim, saying the attack had not come from the south.
Fellow Gulf OPEC producer Kuwait, which said earlier this week it was investigating the detection of a drone over its territory, has put its oil sector on high alert and raised security to the highest level as a precautionary measure.
Oil prices, which soared following the attack, steadied after Saudi Arabia pledged to restore full production by the end of the month.
UN MEETING IN FOCUS
Proof of Iranian responsibility, and evidence that the attack was launched from Iranian territory, could pressure Riyadh and Washington, which want to curb Iranian influence in the region, into a response. Trump has previously said he does not want war and is coordinating with Gulf and European states.
Pompeo said the attacks would be a major focus of next week's annual UN General Assembly meeting and suggested Riyadh could make its case there.
Iran's Zarif accused Pompeo of trying to "dodge a US obligation" to issue visas for Iran's UN delegates.
Tehran has said the US accusations were part of Washington's "maximum pressure" policy on the Islamic Republic to force Iran to renegotiate a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which Trump exited last year, reimposing sanctions.
France, which is trying to salvage the deal, said the New York gathering presented a chance to de-escalate tensions.
"When missiles hit another country it is an act of war, but we have to go back to the principle of de-escalation," French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.
"There is an international investigation, let's wait for its results."
The French army sent seven experts to Saudi Arabia to join the investigation. UN officials monitoring sanctions on Iran and Yemen are also helping probe the attack, which exposed gaps in Saudi air defenses despite billions spent on Western military hardware.
US efforts to bring about a UN Security Council response looked unlikely to succeed as Russia and China have veto powers and were expected to shield Iran.
Washington and its Gulf allies want Iran to stop supporting regional proxies, including in Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon, as well as to put more limitations on its nuclear and missile programs.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
JEDDAH/DUBAI - The United States has discussed with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies possible responses to an attack on Saudi oil facilities they blame on Iran and which US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described as an act of war on the kingdom.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday struck a cautious note, saying there were many options short of war with Iran, which denies involvement in the Sept. 14 strikes that initially halved Saudi oil output. He ordered increased sanctions on Tehran.
"This is an attack of a scale we’ve just not seen before," Pompeo told reporters before landing in Jeddah for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. "The Saudis were the nation that were attacked. It was on their soil. It was an act of war against them directly."
The Saudi ambassador to Berlin said "everything is on the table," telling Deutschlandfunk radio that options need to be discussed carefully.
Riyadh, which described the assault as a "test of global will," on Wednesday displayed the remnants of 25 Iranian drones and missiles it said were used in the strike as undeniable evidence of Iranian aggression.
The United Arab Emirates on Thursday followed its main Arab ally Saudi Arabia in announcing it was joining a global maritime security coalition that Washington has been trying to build since a series of explosions on oil tankers in Gulf waters in recent months that were also blamed on Tehran.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement, which is battling a Saudi-led military coalition, claimed responsibility for the assault on two Saudi oil plants, including the world's largest processing facility. US and Saudi officials rejected the claim, saying the attack had not come from the south.
The Houthis on Wednesday said they had listed dozens of sites in the UAE, the Middle East's financial and tourism hub, as possible targets, a threat that could further strain a tense political atmosphere in the region.
Fellow Gulf OPEC producer Kuwait, which said earlier this week it was investigating the detection of a drone over its territory, has put its oil sector on high alert and raised security to the highest level as a precautionary measure.
Pompeo headed to the UAE on Thursday for talks with Abu Dhabi's crown prince after meeting Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed on Wednesday.
"These subversive attacks aim to destabilize the region's security and damaging the global energy supply and the global economy," state media quoted Prince Mohammed as telling Pompeo.
Oil prices, which soared following the attack, steadied after Saudi Arabia pledged to restore full production by the end of the month.
INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION
Proof of Iranian responsibility, and evidence that the attack was launched from Iranian territory, could pressure Riyadh and Washington, which want to curb Iranian influence in the region, into a response. Trump has previously said he does not want war and is coordinating with Gulf and European states.
Pompeo said the attacks would be a major focus of next week's annual UN General Assembly meeting and suggested Riyadh could make its case there.
"There is an international investigation, let's wait for its results," France's foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told C News television, adding that the General Assembly meeting presented an opportunity to de-escalate tensions.
The French army spokesperson said it sent 7 experts to Saudi Arabia to join the investigation. UN officials monitoring sanctions on Iran and Yemen are also helping probe the attack, which exposed gaps in Saudi air defenses despite billions spent on Western military hardware.
US efforts to bring about a UN Security Council response looked unlikely to succeed as Russia and China have veto powers and were expected to shield Iran.
Tehran has said the US accusations were part of Washington's "maximum pressure" policy on the Islamic Republic to force Iran to renegotiate a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which Trump exited last year, reimposing sanctions.
Washington and its Gulf allies want Iran to stop supporting regional proxies, including in Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon, as well as to put more limitations on its nuclear and missile programs.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia's main partner in the Western-backed, Sunni Muslim coalition fighting in Yemen, has scaled down its military presence there as rising Iran tensions risk a war in the Gulf and as Western allies pressed for an end to the war.
The conflict, seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, has killed tens of thousands and pushed millions to the brink of famine. Some Western countries such as Germany have halted weapons sales to Saudi Arabia over the ruinous war.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
