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Abu Dhabi (CNN Business) - Drone attacks at crucial Saudi oil facilities have disrupted approximately half of the kingdom's oil capacity, or 5% of the world's daily oil supply, people with knowledge of the Saudi Arabian oil operations.
Yemen's Houthi rebels assumed responsibility for the attacks Saturday, saying that 10 drones attacked Aramco's Saudi state oil facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais, according to the Houthi-led Al-Masirah news agency.
Five million barrels per day of crude oil production have been affected after the fires at the sites, one of them being the world's largest oil production facility, people with knowledge of the kingdom's operations said. The latest OPEC figures for August 2019 put Saudi Arabia's total production at 9.8 million barrels per day.
A source told CNN Business that Aramco "hopes to regain that capacity in a matter of days."
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The Ministry of Interior of Saudi Arabia confirmed that drone attacks caused fires in both facilities. In a statement posted on Twitter, the ministry said the fires were under control and authorities were investigating.
“Abqaiq is perhaps the most essential facility in the world for oil supply. Oil prices will rise with this attack, ”said Jason Bordoff, founding director of the Center for Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, in a statement.
The development occurs when Saudi Aramco takes measures to go public in what could be the largest IPO in the world. Aramco attracted great interest with its debut in the international sale of bonds in April, commissioned an independent audit of the kingdom's oil reserves and began publishing profits. In the last two weeks, the kingdom has replaced its energy minister and the president of Aramco.
Image of the fires at Saudi oil bases attacked.
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, has reduced the production of crude oil and other energy products as part of an OPEC effort to increase prices. Saudi Arabia produces approximately 10% of the total global supply of 100 million barrels per day.
The International Energy Agency said Saturday that it was monitoring the situation in Saudi Arabia. “We are in contact with the Saudi authorities, as well as with the main producing and consuming countries. For now, markets are well stocked with large commercial stocks, ”he said on Twitter.
If the interruption in Saudi Arabia is prolonged, "Iran's sanctioned supplies are another source of additional potential oil," Bordoff said. “But [the president of the United States, Donald] Trump has already shown that he is willing to carry out a campaign of maximum pressure even when oil prices rise. In any case, the risk of a regional eye-to-eye escalation that pushes oil prices even higher has increased significantly. ”
Oil prices fell on Friday, with Brent crude, the global reference price fell 0.3% to close at $ 60.22 per barrel.
Drone Attacks Oil