One month after worst oil-supply halt, Aramco says all clear

DUBAI: In the wee hours of a sweltering Saturday in September, a volley of missiles and aerial explosives pierced the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry. The attacks knocked out about 5% of global oil production almost immediately, yet one month later, they might as well never have happened.

Saudi Aramco says it’s currently pumping 9.9 million barrels a day, the same as before the Sept 14 surprise attacks at Abqaiq, the world’s biggest oil-processing facility, and the field at Khurais.

While the attacks laid bare Saudi Arabia’s vulnerability to major disruptions, Brent crude has slid below where it was beforehand, trading yesterday at less than US$60 a barrel.

Shiny, freshly painted spherical tanks that separate oil from natural gas and water are back at work at Abqaiq, company officials told reporters touring the damaged sites on Saturday. On an earlier visit to Abqaiq one week after the assaults, gaping holes showed where projectiles had punctured the same tanks. More repairs await; several crude stabilisation towers are still charred and encased in scaffolding.

“It was very important for the Saudis to restore their position as the world’s reliable supplier,” said Richard Mallinson, an analyst at consultant Energy Aspects Ltd in London.

“The Saudis launched a very active effort to get things back on line and a very big push to maintain their normal supply to markets.”

The energy industry’s worst-ever attacks inflamed tensions in the Persian Gulf after a summer of oil tanker and pipeline bombings. The US and Saudi Arabia blamed Iran, while Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility. The strikes threatened Saudi Arabia’s most valuable industry just months before a planned share sale of Aramco, the state oil giant.

Regional stress rose another notch on Oct 11, when an Iranian tanker came under attack in the Red Sea off the Saudi coast. No one has claimed responsibility yet.