Attacks on Saudi facilities threaten spare oil capacity, price hikes

Smoke fills the sky at the Abqaiq oil processing facility on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019 in Saudi Arabia. Drones claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels attacked the world's largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia and a major oilfield operated by Saudi Aramco early Saturday, sparking a huge fire at a processor crucial to global energy supplies. (Validated UGC via AP)

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Saturday's attacks on key Saudi Arabia processing plants will test the world's ability to handle a supply crisis as it faces the temporary loss of more than 5% of global supply from the world's biggest crude exporter.

The Iranian-backed Houthis group in Yemen claimed responsibility for attacks that shut two plants at the Abqaiq facility, the heart of the Saudi oil industry, which will cut the kingdom's production by about 5.7 million barrels per day (bpd), more than half of the kingdom's output, according to a statement from state-run Saudi Aramco.