Ten Drone Strikes Disrupt Saudi Oil Production

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Drones attacked the world's largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia and a major oilfield operated by Saudi Aramco early on Saturday, the kingdom's interior ministry said, sparking a huge fire at a processor vital to global energy supplies. A military spokesman for Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the strikes. Yahia Sarie made the announcement on Saturday in a televised address carried by the Houthi movement's al-Masirah satellite news channel. He said the rebels had sent 10 drones to attack the Abqaiq oil processing facility and the Khurais oil field. He said attacks against the kingdom would get worse if the war in Yemen continued. "The only option for the Saudi government is to stop attacking us," he said. A Saudi-led coalition has been at war with the rebels since March 2015.

Posted by BruceBanner at 10:20 AM | 24 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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I don't know if these Yemen guys are making their own drones and filling them with explosives, etc. or not... or if they are assembling Iranian drones.

But IF they ARE making their own.... there is a rule of war that should he kept in mind....

If your army/airforce/navy fights with stuff it has bought from another country AMD YOUR ENEMY MAKES THEIR OWN STUFF... even if your equipment is superior, you will lose.

#1 | Posted by J_Tremain at 2019-09-14 10:52 AM | Reply

Thank God for fracking and US industry ignoring the environmental nuts. We would be looking at gas rationing with out. Also, looks like Saudi is on a path to bankruptcy unless they can get production back up and stop further attacks. Europe should send troops - not one US soldier.

#2 | Posted by iragoldberg at 2019-09-14 12:55 PM | Reply

It wouldn't surprise me if this was a Saudi self inflicted false flag attack.
Create a shortage of processed oil, the price goes up.

#3 | Posted by aborted_monson at 2019-09-14 05:55 PM | Reply

"It wouldn't surprise me if this was a Saudi self inflicted false flag attack.
Create a shortage of processed oil, the price goes up.

#3 | POSTED BY ABORTED_MONSON "

You aren't paying attention to global events.

There was a time where if a ME sheik sneezed, the price of oil went up. But since the US has become a major oil producer, those days are over.

Recent major events like Iran siezing tankers, shooting at ships in the Straits of Hormuz didn't make gas prices rise a penny. If that didn't do it, a few drone strikes won't. Don't believe me? Look at petroleum futures when the markets open on Monday. I'll be back to say, "I told you so."

#4 | Posted by goatman at 2019-09-14 06:57 PM | Reply | Funny: 1 | Newsworthy 1

Oil is the head of the snake for terrorist Saudi. Cut it off, the beast dies.
China will not mind the price increase from Iran. I am sure Putin has a smile on his face, European Union just got a price increase.
You'll see increased push for "green" in Europe.

I'm not worried. I can convert most any gas powered vehicle to burn alcohol. Easy to produce that. Much cheaper than gas too, about $10 per 100 gallons. Just don't do it in the house.

#5 | Posted by gitmboy at 2019-09-14 07:49 PM | Reply

Drone strikes knock out half of Saudi oil capacity, 5 million barrels a day
By John Defterios and Victoria Cavaliere, CNN Business
Updated 10:22 PM EDT, Sat September 14, 2019

Abu Dhabi (CNN Business)Drone strikes on key Saudi Arabian oil facilities, among the world's largest and most important energy production centers, have disrupted about half of the kingdom's oil capacity, or 5% of the daily global oil supply.

Yemen's Houthi rebels on Saturday took responsibility for the attacks, saying 10 drones targeted state-owned Saudi Aramco oil facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais, according to the Houthi-run Al-Masirah news agency.

#6 | Posted by BruceBanner at 2019-09-15 01:12 AM | Reply

Half of Saudi oil output, gone.

They were hit harder than I had thought at first.

www.dawn.com

#7 | Posted by J_Tremain at 2019-09-15 10:16 AM | Reply

Funny thing here. They're blaming Iran, even though Yemen claimed responsibility.

#8 | Posted by BruceBanner at 2019-09-15 12:04 PM | Reply

It's just part of the larger ongoing conflict. Yemen Houti-militias are financed and supplied by Iran. They ship them road mobile short and medium range ballistic missiles, but those haven't done anything particularly noteworthy. This isn't even the first drone swarm tried, or even a particularly big one by numbers. It was very effective though, so expect whoever was in charge of air defense at the time to be executed.

#9 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2019-09-15 12:19 PM | Reply

Seeing this isn't the first drone attack on an oil facility target, I would've got anti-aircraft guns or a bunch of guys patrolling with Stingers or some other manpads.... but then the Saudi govt doesn't arm it's own troops for fear of them turning against the royal family itself.

A whole lot of balloon radars would be really welcome. These things:

en.wikipedia.org

What's wrong with the Saudis? LOL

#10 | Posted by J_Tremain at 2019-09-15 01:20 PM | Reply

They have a whole of AA guns. Oerlikon twin 35mm cannon. What they don't have is a functional military culture. It's probably not possible.

#11 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2019-09-15 04:35 PM | Reply

"What they don't have is a functional military culture. It's probably not possible."

#11 | POSTED BY SITZKRIEG

No, they don't and that is because the House of Saud is afraid the militayr will turn on them or not support them when needed. That is why they come crying to the US to do their dirty work (like take care of Iran) rather than do it themselves.

#12 | Posted by goatman at 2019-09-15 04:41 PM | Reply

It's deeper than that. Officers don't trust enlisted men with basic tools to maintain weapons of war. They're assumed either incompetent or thieves. You can not have a functional logistics system with that as standard behavior. They have tiered air defense from manned cannon all the way to THAAD with 54,000 staff to run it all, air supremacy over Yemen with F-15s, US AWACS, and still can't stop 10 drones hitting their most vital economic sector.

#13 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2019-09-15 07:58 PM | Reply

#13 Well some Saudis did manage to fly 3 planes into the WTC and Pentagon, so they have that going for them.

#14 | Posted by bored at 2019-09-16 02:30 AM | Reply

Saw a military analyst saying that the drones could also have come from Eastern Saudi Arabia, which is a Shiite area, Iraq, or Iran. Hard to tell. It will take awhile to know if can ever determine it at all.

And if they did come from Yemen, so what? Saudi Arabia started the conflict with Yemen and has been bombing civilians there for a couple of years, showing no remorse over killing untold large numbers of civilian men, women, and children.

#15 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2019-09-16 02:38 AM | Reply

"There was a time where if a ME sheik sneezed, the price of oil went up. But since the US has become a major oil producer, those days are over.

Well, it's now Monday on the world market, so here's your chance to say I told you so.'

Oops:
www.bloomberg.com

#16 | Posted by TrueBlue at 2019-09-16 04:04 AM | Reply

Bolton The Warmonger is gone. I hope Trump waits to react until our intelligence community is certain where these attacks originated. If Trump will listen to them, that is.

BTW, we don't have a mutual defense treaty (not the mutual defense agreement allowing arms sales) with Saudi Arabia, do we? Let them fight their own battles. The Saud's fund the Wahhabis, who spread hatred of America, to stay in power. Al Qaeda and the 9/11 terrorists were the products of Wahhabism.

#17 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2019-09-16 06:45 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

#13 Well some Saudis did manage to fly 3 planes into the WTC and Pentagon, so they have that going for them.

#14 | POSTED BY BORED AT 2019-09-16 02:30 AM | FLAG:

Engineers. The #1 profession that turns to terrorism is engineers. They know how to weaponize Newtonian physics effectively. In the US military, the troops that assemble and blow up buildings, and many other related duties, are "combat engineers".

#18 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2019-09-16 09:06 AM | Reply

And if they did come from Yemen, so what? Saudi Arabia started the conflict with Yemen

#15 | POSTED BY AMERICANUNITY AT 2019-09-16 02:38 AM | FLAG:

Not quite. Saudi intervention didn't happen until after the Houthi offensive in 2004, in response to the Yemeni government trying to arrest a breakaway political leader enforcing Zaidi religious law despite national laws to the contrary. The government failed to capture him, iirc the guy died in a firefight shortly after. The Houthis won their offensive and ejected the nationally recognized government. That is when Saudi intervention began.

#19 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2019-09-16 09:11 AM | Reply

Saudi Arabian economy is halved overnight, war bells are louder than ever in the Middle East, this is on the back page for almost 24 hours, but a musicians death is the headline? Good we know what's important. lol

#20 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2019-09-16 09:14 AM | Reply

Congress needs to notify Donald Trump that they have the power to take us to war not him. We should not have any part in any war to defend Saudi Arabia.

#21 | Posted by danni at 2019-09-16 09:54 AM | Reply

And we most certainly should not let Neo Cons get us to attack Iran.

#22 | Posted by danni at 2019-09-16 10:05 AM | Reply

Congress ceded that power in the nuclear age.

#23 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2019-09-16 11:03 AM | Reply

The power to declare nuclear war, yes.

#24 | Posted by bored at 2019-09-16 06:44 PM | Reply