Riyad March 20 2022: Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry on March 20 said the country’s Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Co. (Yasref) suffered a drone attack and that production was temporarily reduced, which will be compensated for from inventory.
The ministry said the attack occurred shortly after 5:30 a.m. local time on March 20.
The Yasref refinery uses 400,000 b/d of Arabian heavy crude to produce various petroleum products including 287,000 b/d of diesel and 105,000 b/d of gasoline, along with butane, benzene and butane, according to its website. The company is a joint venture of Saudi Aramco and China Petroleum Corp. A ministry official condemned the attacks but did not say who was responsible, according to a statement by the official Saudi Press Agency.
Earlier, the agency reported that Aramco’s liquefied gas plant in Yanbu, a gas station in Khamis Mushait and an electricity transmission station in Dharhan al Janoub were targets of an attack.
The Saudi Air Force intercepted and destroyed the weapons aimed at the cities of Jizan, Khamis Mushait, Taif, Yanbu and Dhahran.
The attacks followed escalating cross-border fire, which began on March 19 and continued until dawn, according to SPA.
“These attacks affect maritime traffic in a important area – the Red Sea and its important coasts and territorial waters, with potentially serious environmental consequences,” the Saudi energy ministry official said.
Aramco was not immediately available for comment.
Saudi Arabia-led forces are engaged in a seven-year conflict with its southern neighbor’s Houthi militant group. Missile and drone attacks launched by Houthi rebels into Saudi Arabia and the UAE remain one of the top oil security risks.
The Gulf region, which depends on US military support and technology for air defense, saw a record 31 security incidents targeting energy infrastructure in 2021, according to the S&P Global Commodity Insights Oil Security Sentinel, including on an Aramco tank farm at the port of Ras Tanura and strikes aimed at the Jizan refinery.
A drone hit an Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. fuel depot in the UAE on Jan. 17, causing three deaths.
