Saudi Aramco shuts down Jazan oil refinery after attack by Houthis

Saudi Aramco, the national oil company of Saudi Arabia, closed its Jazan oil refinery on Tuesday. This followed a missile and drone attack by Houthis that damaged important facilities at the site.

PREMIUM TIMES previously reported that even though the US and Iran stopped their strikes on Friday night, a new war front has opened between Houthis in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

The report also mentioned that the Houthis launched missiles and drones at Aramco’s facilities in Jazan and Yanbu last Saturday. The Houthi group stated that their attacks were in response to Saudi strikes on Hodeida, a port city in Yemen along the Red Sea.

On Tuesday, Reuters reported that the Houthi attack caused damage to the refinery’s integrated gasification combined-cycle complex and an oil storage area.

Aramco aims to finish repairs and restart operations by 15 August. The facilities affiliated with Aramco are some of Saudi Arabia’s most critical oil installations on the Red Sea.

To avoid Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia had redirected its crude oil output to Yanbu via its east-west pipeline. This redirection began after the US and Israel started a conflict with Iran in February.

The Jazan refinery has a capacity to process 400,000 barrels of oil daily.

In another development, Saudi Arabia reported intercepting drones launched from Iraq. These drones targeted oil facilities in the Eastern Province and Riyadh on Monday.

Saudi’s Foreign Ministry responded by saying it “reserves the right to respond” to the attack, which it blamed on armed groups backed by Iran in Iraq.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi government stated it will investigate the claims of drones being launched from its territory. Key Iraqi security officials are asking for intelligence and evidence from Riyadh to find out who was responsible for the attack.