Oil prices up, rebound after attack on Aramco facility

Both benchmarks heading for their first weekly gain in three weeks

HOUSTON:

Oil prices rose on Friday, rebounding from early losses as traders rushed to buy after a missile attack hit Saudi Arabia’s state-run oil company Aramco’s storage facility.

Brent crude rose $1.01, or 01.2%, to $120.23 a barrel at 11:50 a.m. ET (16:50 GMT) and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up $0.95, or 0.9%, to $113.37. Both had dropped $3 earlier.

Both benchmarks were heading for their first weekly gains in three weeks. Brent was on track for an 11% weekly jump and WTI for a rise of over 8%.

A huge plume of black smoke was seen rising in Jeddah where oil giant Aramco has several oil facilities, witnesses said.

Yemen’s Houthi military spokesman said the group had attacked Saudi Arabian state oil giant Aramco’s facilities in the port city of Jeddah with missiles and the Ras Tanura and Rabigh refineries with drones.

READ Saudi Aramco storage petroleum facility hit by Houthi attack, causing fire

A Saudi-led coalition said the fire was brought under control in two tanks in Aramco’s oil facility, and that there were no casualties, state-owned Al Arabiya television reported.

“The market, which was already shunning Russian oil supplies, has another thing to worry about with Houthi attacks potentially impacting Saudi Arabia’s production,” said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston, noting that the Houthi attacks were becoming more frequent.

The attack comes just five days after the Houthi group fired missiles and drones at Saudi energy and water desalination facilities, causing a temporary drop in output at a refinery but no casualties.

Another Aramco distribution plant was also attacked in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, leading to a fire in one of the tanks, according to the Saudi-led coalition.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 26^th, 2022.

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