RIYADH, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy said Thursday that operations at several key energy facilities were suspended following recent attacks.
The ministry said vital installations across the kingdom, including oil and gas production, transportation, refining, petrochemical sites, and power facilities in Riyadh, the Eastern Province, and Yanbu Industrial City, have been repeatedly targeted, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The attacks killed one Saudi industrial security worker and injured seven others at a Saudi energy company, while disrupting operations at multiple energy sector sites.
A pumping station on the East-West Pipeline was hit, causing a loss of about 700,000 barrels per day in throughput. The pipeline is a major route for supplying global markets. The Manifa oil production facility also suffered damage, reducing output by around 300,000 barrels per day.
Earlier strikes on the Khurais facility cut production by another 300,000 barrels per day, bringing the kingdom's total production loss to roughly 600,000 barrels per day.
Major refineries-including SATORP in Jubail, Ras Tanura, SAMREF in Yanbu, and the Riyadh refinery-were also affected, directly impacting refined product exports. Fires at processing facilities in Ju'aymah disrupted exports of liquefied petroleum gas and natural gas liquids.
The ministry warned that continued attacks could reduce supplies, slow recovery efforts, undermine energy security for consuming countries, and add volatility to global oil markets. It said the situation has already strained the global economy by depleting inventories, limiting available supply, and restricting the ability to respond to shortfalls.
