Attack on Abqaiq and Churais

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Attack targets of September 14, 2019

During the attack on Abqaiq and Churais on September 14, 2019 , two plants belonging to the Saudi Arabian oil company Saudi Aramco were attacked by drones and cruise missiles in eastern Saudi Arabia : the Abqaiq oil processing plant and the large Churais oil field . Abqaiq is considered one of the most important oil refineries in the world, processing seven million barrels of crude oil per day.

procedure

Abqaiq, 1,300 km from the border with Yemen, was attacked at around 3 a.m. local time in the morning. According to Huthi -Sprechern 10 Qasef 2K drones were involved in the attacks. US spokesmen assume based on satellite images of at least 17 impacts from drones and probably also from rockets.

The attacks caused fires with huge flames and thick clouds of smoke that spread up to 150 kilometers over Saudi Arabia. Business Insider released satellite images of the damaged facilities. On the night of Sunday, Saudi spokespersons announced that the fires were under control and that there had been no injuries among the workers at the refinery according to previous knowledge.

On September 18, at a press conference, Saudi authorities presented the debris from 25 drones and cruise missiles that they believed were used in the attack.

background

Houthi rebels from Yemen have already attacked facilities of the oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. On May 14, pumping stations on the east-west pipeline and the port of Yanbu were attacked in Dodami and Afif, and the Shaybah oil and gas field on August 17 . The rebels announced further and more serious actions if Saudi aggression continues in Yemen. The Houthi rebels have Qasef drones, which are identical to the Iranian Ababil II drones. The Qasef-1 type has a range of 100 to 150 kilometers and can transport 30 to 45 kilograms.

Originator

Yemeni Houthi rebels , who are being fought by the Saudis in the Yemen war, claimed responsibility for the attacks.

The US administration under Donald Trump, however, accuses Iran . US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there was no evidence that it was actually drones from Yemen that damaged the facilities and instead blamed Iran for the attacks. As evidence, satellite images were published which, using the impact points and damage patterns of the precise hits, are intended to show that the missiles did not come from the direction of Yemen in the south-west, around 800 km away, but rather from the north-west. Abbas Mousavi, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Office, strictly rejected allegations: "Because the US policy of maximum pressure on Iran has failed, the Americans have now switched to that of maximum lies."

Shiite militias or representatives of the Shiite minority in Saudi Arabia, who were repeatedly victims of repression by the Saudi royal family, were named as possible perpetrators or accomplices in the Austrian daily Die Presse .

The debris and remains of the 25 missiles recovered by the Saudis were presented at a press conference on September 18 as 7 cruise missiles and parts of 18 drones of various Iranian models. According to the Saudis, the exact starting point of the attacks could not yet be named.

consequences

As a result, Saudi oil production collapsed by around half, according to estimates. The price of crude oil rose by around 20% on the next trading day. How far there will be bottlenecks, price increases for the end user, immediate savings or recourse to reserves is unclear based on the current information.

The main consequence of the attacks is a further destabilization of the Middle East and increasing tensions between the two rival powers in the region, Saudi Arabia and Iran, and the United States , which traditionally support the Saudi royal family. The power structure within Saudi Arabia is also crumbling. In particular, massive resistance by the Shiite minority could endanger the stability of the absolute rule of the Saudis. The Houthis announced further attacks against Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure. The United States agreed to retaliate.

In response to the shelling, the US sent around 200 soldiers to Saudi Arabia. The United Kingdom will also be equipped with a Patriot missile defense system and four radars , said the US Department of Defense .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Abwarten-nach-dem-Angriff-auf-saudische-Oelanlagen-4523738.html , accessed on September 17, 2019
  2. ↑ https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Saudi-Arabien-Oelproduktion-durch-Huthis-sehenlich-getroffen-4523299.html , accessed on September 17, 2019
  3. ↑ a b c https://www.tagblatt.ch/international/angriff-auf-saudische-oelanlagen-technische-hintergruende-unklar-ld.1152542 , accessed on September 17, 2019
  4. ↑ : Satellite photos show scale of destruction at Saudi oil field hit by drone attacks which put global markets in chaos , September 16, 2019
  5. ↑ a b "Oil attacks 'unquestionably sponsored by Iran': Saudi Arabia" aljazeera.com from September 18, 2019
  6. ^ "Saudi Arabia oil facilities ablaze after drone strikes" , BBC of September 14, 2019
  7. ↑ "Iran rejects US accusation over drone attacks on Aramco plants" aljazeera.com from September 15, 2019
  8. ↑ "What the satellite images reveal about the attackers" Die Welt, September 16, 2019
  9. ↑ a b USA ready to retaliate after attacks on Saudi oil plant , Die Zeit , September 16, 2019
  10. ↑ Karim El-Gawhary (Correspondents in Cairo): A Blow to the Heart of the Oil Industry , Die Presse , September 16, 2019
  11. ↑ Handelsblatt (Düsseldorf): Houthi rebels attack two Saudi Aramco locations - oil production halved , September 14, 2019
  12. ^ After attacks on oil plants: Washington sends soldiers and rockets to Saudi Arabia . In: Spiegel Online . September 26, 2019 ( spiegel.de [accessed September 27, 2019]).

See also