News / Saudi Arabia / Business

Oil prices surge after Yemen’s missile attack on Saudi facilities

Monday, 08 March 2021 2:11 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 08 March 2021 2:43 PM ]

Oil workers assess damage to the Khurais oil facility following the September 14 attack on Saudi Aramco facilities. (Photo by AP)

Oil prices have witnessed a sharp rise to above 70 dollars a barrel following the latest drone and ballistic missile attacks by Yemen's army and the Popular Comittees' fighters on Saudi oil facilities and military targets.

Brent crude oil on Monday surged more than two percent and peaked at $71.38 a barrel, before falling back under $70 per barrel, the highest price hike since January 2020.

The significant price rise came after the Saudi Energy Ministry confirmed that a drone hit a petroleum tank farm at Ras Tanura Port, one of the world's largest oil shipping ports.

The ministry said a ballistic missile also targeted Aramco facilities in the city of Dhahran.

Saudi Arabia confirms Yemeni drone, missile attacks on oil facilities

Saudi Arabia has confirmed drone, missile attacks by the Yemeni army on its oil facilities.

Brigadier General Yahya Saree, spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, earlier announced that the Yemeni army had launched eight ballistic missiles and 14 bomb-laden drones in a “wide operation in the heart of Saudi Arabia.”

Saree said the attacks hit Aramco facilities and military sites in Asir province and the cities of Dammam and Jizan, adding that the Yemeni forces shot down a Saudi reconnaissance plane over Yemen’s Jawf Province as well.

The attacks are the most serious against Saudi oil facilities since a September 2019 operation against a key processing facility and two fields. That attack was claimed by Yemen's Ansarullah movement, while Riyadh and Washington put the blame on Iran. Tehran has categorically rejected any involvement in the attack.

Yemeni drones attack air base, airport in Saudi Arabia: Military

Yemeni armed forces launch retaliatory drone strikes against Abha airport and an airbase in Saudi Arabia’s southwestern region of Asir.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched the war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of suppressing a popular uprising that had toppled a Riyadh-friendly regime.

The Yemeni armed forces and allied popular groups have been successfully defending Yemen since then.

But the Saudi-led war and blockade have created a humanitarian crisis in the impoverished country. The United Nations (UN) says more than 24 million Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme levels of hunger. The world body also refers to the situation in Yemen as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk