Fears of the effects of raids on oil production
Saudi Arabia said Monday that it will not “be responsible” for any shortage of oil supplies to global markets in light of the attacks on its oil facilities by the Ansar Allah Houthi group in Yemen.
Saudi oil sites have been attacked by Houthi drones and missiles at a time when energy markets are in a state of confusion due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Saudi official, whose name was not mentioned by the official agency, said that the Houthi raids on the kingdom’s oil facilities had “disastrous effects, especially in the production, processing and refining sectors”, which would lead to “affecting the kingdom’s production capacity and its ability to fulfill its obligations.”
Amin Nasser, CEO of Aramco, said, “This pattern of attacks and this form of escalation in this international situation is a source of great concern to the world, and if a new escalation occurs, this may have an impact on oil supplies.”
A source from the Saudi Foreign Ministry, who was not identified, urged the international community to realize the danger of Iran’s arming the Houthis, who are fighting against the Saudi-led coalition, which began the military intervention in Yemen seven years ago.
Saudi Arabia had proposed an exit from the costly Yemeni conflict, which is seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives and caused a severe humanitarian crisis.
Last year, the Biden administration suspended support for coalition military operations in Yemen, reviewed arms sales to Saudi Arabia, and urged Riyadh to end the international coalition’s blockade of Houthi-controlled areas.
This escalation comes at a time of heightened tension in relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia has rejected calls from the West to increase production in order to rein in prices that rose after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Several major industrial countries are seeking to persuade Saudi Arabia and the rest of the major oil producers to increase production in a way that exceeds what was agreed upon by the countries of the OPEC Plus alliance, which includes Russia.