Oil facilities belonging to the world's most valuable energy company have been hit by new attacks
Saudi Aramco's oil facilities were hit by new attacks / Photo: Hyserb / Shutterstock
Oil facilities belonging to the Saudi state-owned company Saudi Aramco were attacked on September 7 in Jizan, located near Saudi Arabia’s border with Yemen, the Financial Times reports, citing two sources familiar with the situation. The extent of the damage is being assessed, the sources told the newspaper.
Saudi Aramco did not respond to the FT's request for comment.
Against this backdrop, oil prices accelerated their rise, according to MarketWatch. October futures for U.S. WTI crude gained nearly 2%, rising to $93.3 per barrel. The November Brent crude contract rose more than 1.8% to $98.06. This trend pushed prices for both the U.S. and global benchmark crude to their highest levels since July, MarketWatch added.
Saudi Aramco is the world's most valuable oil company. Its market capitalization exceeds $1.6 trillion. That is 2.5 times more than that of Exxon Mobil, which ranks second.
Context
The attack on Saudi Aramco’s infrastructure came a month after a previous strike by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, which temporarily disabled part of a local oil refinery’s capacity, the FT notes. At the time, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser stated that “the attacks caused some disruptions to oil production, but this did not have a significant operational or financial impact.”
The attack on Saudi infrastructure also followed a statement on September 6 by Mohsen Rezaei, the new secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council: He said the country plans to declare an “exclusion zone” to block ships from entering the Strait of Hormuz, according to MarketWatch.
The U.S. and Iran continued to exchange military strikes over the weekend, causing this new round of hostilities to enter its second week, the publication added.
“The main development in the conflict with Iran over the weekend was a tit-for-tat escalation involving attacks on commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf and adjacent waters. “We are still a long way from a resolution,” Deutsche Bank analyst Jim Reed said on Monday, September 7. His comments were reported by MarketWatch.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
