Saudi oil infrastructure in crosshairs as Houthis claim Ras Tanura strike

A fire reportedly broke out on Tuesday near Saudi Aramco facilities in Ras Tanura, the kingdom’s largest export terminal in the Gulf, after a reported missile strike by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

What happened: A fire broke out near the Ras Tanura oil export terminal in the early hours of Tuesday and was later contained, Bloomberg reported, citing a source with knowledge of the matter.

The extent of the damage was not immediately clear.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement. Yahya Saree, military spokesperson for the Iran-backed militia, said the strike was "precise" and caused “massive fires” at the facility.

Aramco and the Saudi Energy Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

Separately, Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense said in a statement Tuesday that the kingdom’s air defenses had intercepted and destroyed three Houthi ballistic missiles launched toward the eastern region.

Why it matters: The Ras Tanura refinery is Saudi Arabia's largest, with a capacity of around 550,000 barrels per day of crude and condensates. The wider Ras Tanura complex also includes the world’s largest offshore crude oil export terminal, with a capacity to ship up to 9 million barrels per day. The terminal features four Sea Island offshore loading berths that allow up to 16 Very Large Crude Carriers — tankers that can carry at least 2 million barrels — to load at once.

The refinery was also targeted by Iranian drones in March, shortly after the US-Israeli war against Iran began on Feb. 28. Saudi authorities said debris from intercepted drones caused a limited fire and damage on March 2. They reported another attempted drone attack two days later.

Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure has come under repeated attacks from the Houthis in recent weeks. The rebel group says they are a response to the kingdom's military actions supporting Yemeni government forces fighting the militia in the country's civil war over the last 12 years. 

On Monday, Saree claimed the Houthis launched drone attacks across oil pumping stations along Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline, the kingdom's primary crude export artery since Iran's partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz at the beginning of the war with the US and Israel.  Saree also said pumping stations for the pipeline were targeted in attacks on Saturday. Saudi Arabia has not commented on the claimed attacks.

Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran in the Eastern province were targeted by a Houthi missile in mid-October. There were no casualties, but staff had to evacuate the site. The strike hit an administrative building within the headquarters complex that houses the chief executive’s office and the oil supply planning department, causing a fire that spread across multiple floors.

The Houthis also targeted the Saybah refinery, a major oil field in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern province, as well as the Rabigh, Yazan and Yanbu refineries along the kingdom’s western coast during October, disrupting oil production and exports.

Know more: Saree also said in a statement that the Saudi Ministry of Defense in Riyadh had been struck by a ballistic missile from the Houthis on Tuesday. The Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted two Houthi ballistic missiles launched toward Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia’s logistics and transport infrastructure has also come under attack by the Houthis, particularly the kingdom’s major airports. An Oct. 10 strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport killed 13 people and injured more than 300. The airport suspended operations after the attack and partially reopened on Oct. 25.

Brett Erickson, managing principal at Obsidian Risk Advisors, told Al-Monitor, “The Houthis have turned Saudi infrastructure into target practice with remarkably little resistance. From airports to critical energy infrastructure, virtually nothing appears beyond their reach.” 

He went on, “The greatest threat to global energy markets is no longer whether Saudi Arabia can defend its infrastructure, but whether the Houthis decide to destroy it.”

Erickson added that Saudi Arabia’s energy security increasingly rests not on Riyadh’s ability to defend its infrastructure, but on the Houthis’ willingness to spare it.

“That is an extraordinarily dangerous position for the global energy market to be in,” he added.