Since the start of the Saudi-led war, Houthi rebels have been using drones in combat. The violence has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine and killed more than 90,000 people since 2015, according to the US-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, or ACLED, which tracks the conflict. The war has become the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The Iranian-backed Houthis hold Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and other territory in the Arab world's poorest country. While no group immediately claimed the attacks, suspicion immediately fell on Yemen's Houthi rebels.Ī Saudi-led coalition has been battling the rebels since March 2015. Benchmark Brent crude had been trading at just above $60 a barrel.īuqyaq is some 330 kilometers (205 miles) northeast of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. There was no immediate impact on global oil prices as markets were closed for the weekend across the world. Al-Qaida-claimed suicide bombers tried but failed to attack the oil complex in February 2006. The plant has been targeted in the past by militants. Estimates suggest it can process up to 7 million barrels of crude oil a day. Saudi Aramco describes its Abqaiq oil processing facility in Buqyaq as "the largest crude oil stabilization plant in the world." The facility processes sour crude oil into sweet crude, then later transports onto transshipment points on the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. The kingdom hopes soon to offer a sliver of the company in an initial public offering.
Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil giant, did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press. It said an investigation into the attack was underway. The fires began after the sites were "targeted by drones," the Interior Ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency. Smoke rose over the skyline and glowing flames could be seen a distance away. Online videos apparently shot in Buqyaq included the sound of gunfire in the background and flames shooting out of the Abqaiq oil processing facility.