Houthi rebels appeared to have attacked the headquarters of Saudi Aramco after a Saudi Arabia-led coalition launched air strikes on Sana'a, the Yemeni capital held by the Iran-backed militants. On Tuesday night, one person with direct knowledge said the company's headquarters in Dhahran in the Eastern Province had been attacked and was on fire. The extent of the damage at Aramco, the world's largest oil group by market capitalisation, was not immediately clear. Aramco did not respond to a request for comment. It was also unclear if the damage was caused by a direct hit or debris from an intercepted strike, the person said.
The kingdom's energy ministry said an Aramco administrative building in Dhahran had been targeted, leading to a "limited fire". No fatalities or injuries were reported. Major General Turki al-Maliki, a spokesperson for the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, said earlier on Tuesday that ballistic missile strikes launched on Haradh and Dhahran, both cities in the Eastern Province, had been intercepted. Fragments from an interception over Dhahran fell into a residential area, he added.
The Houthis' suspected attack came during the World Petroleum Congress event in Riyadh, an energy industry event at which the chief executives of Siemens Energy, Baker Hughes and SLB were scheduled to speak. The heads of several oil companies, including Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell, BP and Total Energies, pulled out of the event because of the deteriorating security situation.
Earlier the Saudi Arabia-led coalition said it targeted Yemen Petroleum Company's Sabaha fuel depot, on the outskirts of Sana'a, accusing the Houthis of using civilian sites for military purposes. Brigadier General Yahya Saree, a military spokesperson for the Houthis, said Sabaha did not currently hold any stocks of petroleum products and that there was "no military value" in targeting the station. The Houthis threatened a "harsh and painful" response to any strikes on Sana'a. Saree warned the group could target Aramco's facilities in the Eastern Province and Riyadh.
Source: Financial Times Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing