DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An oil storage facility in Saudi Arabia was hit by a barrage of drone attacks on Friday, in a marked escalation of tensions in one of the world’s most important regions for oil shipments.
State oil producer Saudi Aramco’s North Jeddah Bulk Plant — a storage facility — was hit, according to a person familiar with the matter. Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed a series of attacks on Aramco facilities on Friday, sending oil prices higher.
While the storage site targeted in Jeddah is focused on domestic needs, limiting the impact on the global crude market, the escalation of attacks is spooking oil traders, with crude already above $100 a barrel. Saudi Arabia warned this week that oil supplies are at risk, and called on the U.S. to do more to counterattacks from the Iran-backed Houthis — a message it reiterated Friday.
“This aggressive escalation targets oil facilities and is meant to try to affect energy security and the global economy,” Saudi defense ministry spokesman Turki al-Maliki told the official Saudi Press Agency after the attack.
Nuclear talks with Iran — a regional rival of Saudi Arabia — that may end up easing sanctions and strengthening Tehran have added to the sense of urgency in Riyadh.
Aramco media officials were not immediately available to comment.
Aramco closed its only refinery in Jeddah in 2017, with most of its infrastructure in the city focused on local supply. The Houthis have regularly targeted a 400,000 barrel-a-day refinery at Jazan, farther to the south and near the Yemeni border, apparently without having caused any major damage there.
Saudi Arabia is hosting a Formula 1 race in Jeddah this weekend, a major set piece of the kingdom’s tourism push. Hitting Jeddah ahead of the sporting event could tarnish the image the country is seeking to develop as a business and leisure destination and highlights the risks of the drawn out conflict to the south.
The attacks on Friday were launched from the Sana’a international airport in Yemen and the Al Hudaydah Governorate, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, has suffered regular drone and missile attacks carried out by Yemen’s Houthis on its territory over the past two years.
The coalition began a military campaign in Yemen in 2015 against the Houthis after they took over the capital and dislodged the internationally recognized government. The war has devolved into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Earlier on Friday, the Saudi-led coalition intercepted a ballistic missile and 10 bomb-laden drones, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The missile was aimed at Najran, in the southwest of the kingdom. Nine drones were heading toward targets in southern, central and eastern regions, the SPA said, without giving details. Another drone, bound for Jazan, was intercepted later, according to the press agency.
A projectile fell on a power distribution station in Samtah, causing a small fire, the SPA said on Twitter. No casualties were reported. A strike also hit the tanks of the National Water Company in Dhahran Al-Janoub, Al-Arabiya reported. Civilian vehicles and residential houses were also hit, it said.
