Saudi Arabia: 'Projectile' starts fire at oil terminal in Jizan; no causalities reported

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy on March 25 said that a fire broke out at an oil terminal in Jizan after it was hit by a projectile. In a statement published by the Saudi Press Agency, the ministry informed that no casualties were reported. The officials added that the projectile attack on a petroleum products distribution terminal resulted in a fire in one of the terminal’s tanks. 

According to Arab News, Saudi Arabia condemned the attack and said that these “acts of sabotage” target the security of energy supplies. An official ministry spokesperson said that the attack target the kingdom alone, but also petroleum exports, the stability of energy supply to the world, freedom of the world trade, as well as the global economy. The spokesperson added that such attacks also affect maritime traffic and expose coasts and territorial waters to grave environmental catastrophe. 

As of now, no one has claimed responsibility for the assault at Jizan in southwest Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen. However, it is worth mentioning that that attack came during what Saudi defence officials described as a barrage of eight bomb-carrying drones launched by the Houthi rebels. As per reports, the kingdom has faced an increasing number of such assaults and the tempo hasn’t slowed since it offered a cease-fire deal to the Houthis earlier this week. 

Yemen conflict 

Meanwhile, strikes on major oil facilities in the kingdom, the world’s largest oil exporter, raise the risk of a disruption in world oil supplies. Back in 2019, a drone and missile attack struck two key Saudi oil installations and halted about half of the country’s oil supplies.

Yemen's Houthi rebels have gradually increased attacks on Saudi Arabia in the past couple of years, making use of drones and other airborne weapons. Just last month, a bomb-laden drone hit a passenger aircraft in Saudi Arabia, setting it on fire. However, no casualties were reported as the aircraft was standing empty. 

The war in Yemen began in 2014 after Iran-backed Houthi rebels captured the country's capital Sana'a and most of the northern parts, including key seaports, which massively hampered imports, pushing the country into a humanitarian crisis. Saudi Arabia, an adversary of Iran, entered the war in 2015 and started airstrikes against the Houthis in an attempt to defeat the rebels and restore the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. 

(Image: AP)