Nearly a week after drone attacks on two strategic Saudi oilfields, Riyadh presented for the first time to the press on Friday (September 20th) the extent of the damage to its facilities attacked on September 14th.
The site of Khurais, in the east of the kingdom, was hit four times and fires raged for five hours, told reporters an official of the Saudi oil giant Aramco who manages the platform, which contributed to the halving the production of the leading exporter of black gold and driving prices soaring.
Eighteen strikes were reported in Abqaiq - 200 kilometers northeast of Khurais - home to the world's largest crude processing plant, according to another Aramco official.
The journalists noted during this rare visit to the Saudi energy complex that huge tanks had been damaged at Abqaiq as well as "stabilization" towers, used in particular to separate the gas from the crude.
According to a third official of Aramco, Khaled al-Ghamdi, "6,000 workers are involved in the repair work" against 112 on the site usually.
Eighteen drones and seven cruise missiles used, according to Riyadh
The reporters have seen scenes of destruction in Khurais, with cranes deployed in the middle of burnt debris. Technicians were busy assessing damage to a stabilizer.
At the time of the attack, "there were more than 200 to 300 people inside the facility," said Fahad Abdelkarim, a director of Aramco, adding that no one had been hurt.
The material damage is considerable: large metal pipes were deformed by the explosions and scattered around the site. According to the Saudi authorities, 18 drones and seven cruise missiles were used.
Despite the scale of the damage, Aramco remains optimistic about the complete recovery of its production. "An emergency team has been set up to repair the plant, restart activities and bring back (production) to its usual level," said Fahad Abdelkarim. "In less than 24 hours, 30% of the plant was operational," he said, saying "production will be at the same level as before the attack by the end of the month."
But experts judge this ambitious goal. The Energy Intelligence Group's specialized newsletter pointed out in a report that some repairs would require "several weeks".
With AFP