Oil tanks at an oil processing facility of Saudi Aramco, a Saudi Arabian state-owned oil and gas company, at the Abqaiq oil field.
Stanislav Krasilnikov | TASS via Getty Images
International benchmark Brent crude oil futures fell above $ 70 a barrel for the first time in more than a year during Asian trading hours on Monday.
The rise in oil prices came after Saudi Arabia said its oil facilities were targeted by missiles and drones on Sunday. A military spokesman for Houthi has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Brent jumped 2.65% to trade at $ 71.20, while US crude oil futures were up 2.56% to $ 67.78.
Saudi Arabia’s ministry of energy said a petroleum tank farm in one of the world’s largest oil change ports was attacked by a drone and ballistic missile targeting Saudi Aramco facilities, according to the state news agency SPA.
Such acts of sabotage are directed not only against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but also against the security and stability of the energy supply to the world, and thus also to the world economy.
Ministry of Energy of Saudi Arabia
spokesman
A spokesman said neither attack caused injury or loss of life or property, but shrapnel from the intercepted missile fell near residential areas in the city of Dhahran, SPA reported.
“Such acts of sabotage are not only aimed at the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but also at the security and stability of the energy supply to the world, and thus also the global economy,” the ministry said through state media. “They affect the security of petroleum exports, freedom of world trade and maritime transport.”
Yahya Sare’e, a spokesman for the Yemeni Houthis, said it was conducting a “broad joint offensive operation” involving 14 drones and eight ballistic missiles.
He said on Twitter that other military sites were also targeted by four drones and seven ballistic missiles, adding that “the hit was precise.”
“We promise #Saudi the regime’s painful operations as long as it continues its aggression and blockade against our country, ”he said in another post.
A Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen’s civil war in 2015 and has continued to fight the Houthis in what is seen as a proxy war with Iran.
The Houthis have reportedly stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent weeks.
The Biden government said last month it would remove the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen from the lists of the Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist, according to NBC News.