Saudi Arabia’s oil refinery was on Friday hit by a drone attack which sparked a fire in Riyadh.
This was disclosed today by the Arab country’s energy ministry.
Shortly after the strike, Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for the attack on the refinery, which has a crude distillation capacity of 140,000 b/d.
In a statement released by the energy ministry, the Saudi authorities believed the attack was pre-meditated.
“The kingdom strongly condemns this cowardly attack and affirms that the terrorist and subversive acts, which are repeatedly committed against vital installations and civilian objects, are not only targeting the kingdom, but, more broadly, the security and stability of the world’s energy supply, as well as the global economy,”.
Defending their action, Houthi spokesman, Yahya Sarea declared that the strike was in response to Saudi aggression in the war in Yemen, where the kingdom has led a military coalition campaign.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said it had contained the fire with no interruption to oil supplies and no casualties.
