TEHRAN, Sept 15 -Riyadh has admitted that Yemen’s drone strikes on Saudi Arabia’s key oil facilities have shut down about 50 percent of the kingdom’s crude and gas production, with the United States rushing to point the finger at Iran for the raids without providing any evidence.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club(YJC)_In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Sunday, Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman acknowledged that the attacks on Aramco refineries in Abqaiq and Khurais, east of Saudi Arabia, had cut the state oil giant’s crude oil supply by around 5.7 million barrels per day, or about 50 percent of its output.
He added, however, that parts of the reduction would be compensated for through drawing from Aramco’s oil stocks.
The minister noted that the attacks had also led to a halt in gas production that will reduce the supply of ethane and natural gas liquids by 50 percent.
In August, Saudi Arabia produced 9.85 million barrels per day, according to the figures from the US Energy Information Administration.
Yemen used 10 drones for Saturday’s operation, which was one of their largest retaliatory attacks ever inside the kingdom.
Yemen’s armed forces spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Sare’e has even warned that operations will “expand” and be “more painful” as long as Saudi Arabia continues its military aggression.
Pompeo blames Iran
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took to Twitter to put the blame for Saturday’s operation on Iran, claiming, “Tehran is behind nearly 100 attacks on Saudi Arabia” and that “there is no evidence the attacks came from Yemen.”
“The United States will work with our partners and allies to ensure that energy markets remain well supplied and Iran is held accountable for its aggression,” he added.
Pompeo’s tweet was, however, met with a wave of criticism on Twitter.
Replying to Pompeo, US Democratic senator Chris Murphy tweeted, “This is such irresponsible simplification and it’s how we get into dumb wars of choice.”
source:presstv
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