The headquarters of the world's most valuable oil company was hit by a missile strike
Sources at Bloomberg and the Financial Times reported on the attack on the Saudi Aramco office
Saudi Aramco logo / Photo: Saudi Aramco
Yemeni Houthis launched a missile strike on the headquarters of Saudi Aramco, the world’s most valuable oil company, in Saudi Arabia. A fire broke out in one section of the complex, according to Bloomberg and the Financial Times, citing sources. The extent of the damage remains unclear, as does the exact cause of the fire—it may have been caused by a direct hit or by debris from downed missiles.
Details
Saudi Aramco's headquarters in Dhahran was attacked on Tuesday, October 13. The fire was extinguished, according to Bloomberg.
Aramco did not respond to requests for comment from Bloomberg and the FT. Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy also did not respond to Bloomberg.
The attack coincided with the World Petroleum Congress in Riyadh, the FT noted. Speeches by executives from Siemens Energy, Baker Hughes, and SLB were scheduled for this industry forum. The heads of ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, and TotalEnergies canceled their participation in the congress due to the deteriorating security situation in the kingdom, the newspaper added.
On October 12, Brent crude fell by nearly 0.5% to $106.16 per barrel. U.S. WTI crude rose 0.4% to $94.1 per barrel.
Context
The attack on Aramco’s headquarters was part of a series of strikes on Saudi Arabian territory in recent days, during which the country’s airports were also targeted. At least 18 people were killed, and hundreds more were injured. The Houthi attacks followed a call by the Riyadh-led coalition for residents of the area near the oil facility in Sanaa, the Houthi-controlled capital of Yemen, to leave the area “for their own safety,” according to Bloomberg.
This is not the first time the kingdom’s oil infrastructure has come under attack. The oil refinery in Jizan, in the west of the country, has still not resumed operations following the attack. The country’s key export port on the Red Sea coast—Yanbu—has also been targeted; it has been shelled before. The East-West Pipeline, which serves as the main route for delivering Aramco’s oil to global markets, was also temporarily shut down in September following an attack. This pipeline serves as an alternative route for exporting Saudi crude amid restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
