Attacks on energy facilities cause a reduced supply and slow recovery, a Saudi official tells state news agency.
RIYADH — Operational activities have been halted at several energy facilities in Saudi Arabia due to recent attacks, according to the Saudi Press Agency, citing an official source at the Ministry of Energy.
The attacks, which targeted oil, gas and electricity sites in Riyadh, the Eastern Province, and Yanbu Industrial City, resulted in the death of one Saudi national from the industrial security personnel of the Saudi energy company, with seven others injured, SPA reported on Thursday.
The Gulf countries, consisting of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar, have faced repeated drone and missile attacks from Iran over recent weeks in response to the US and Israeli war on Iran that began on February 28.
The attacks on Saudi energy sites resulted in a reduction in the kingdom’s oil production capacity of approximately 600,000 barrels per day, the SPA report said.
‘Increased volatility’
The official speaking to the SPA said the continuation of attacks leads to reduced supply, slows recovery, and contributes to increased volatility in the oil market because they affect the security of supply for consuming countries.
Oil prices jumped upward after a day of downtrend on Wednesday, as the world weighs the prospects of a shaky Iran-US ceasefire and possibly the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil transit point that Iran has effectively blocked during the conflict.
US President Donald Trump announced the two-week halt in the war against Iran, and Tehran said it would reopen the waterway that normally transports one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas.
But the ceasefire has been placed in doubt, largely by Israel’s ongoing daily attacks on Lebanon and Iran’s attacks on the Gulf countries after the announcement of the truce on Wednesday. Israel and the US say that Lebanon was not part of the truce, but Iran and mediator Pakistan say it was included.
Several leaders around the world have called for Lebanon to be included in the ceasefire.
Tehran has also said it will impose a toll on ships transiting Hormuz.
C. Al Jazeera
