Environment & Energy | Wednesday 18 September, 2019 3:32 am |

Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Minister of Energy, conveyed the Saudi leadership's announcement to the citizens and people who love this country about the return of oil supplies to what they were before 3:43 am on Saturday as a result the blatant sabotage act against the two oil facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais of Saudi Aramco.
During a press conference held today in Jeddah, he explained the efforts exerted to enable the Saudi oil industry to overcome the impact of this sabotage. He said: "In continuation of the Kingdom's announcement, this aggression resulted in the interruption of about 5.7 million barrels per day of crude oil production. Of these, 4.5 million barrels per day are from Abqaiq plants, where production is processed from several fields. The interruption of production also included about 2 billion cubic feet of associated gas, 1.3 billion cubic feet of dry gas, 500 million cubic feet of ethane and about half a million barrels of gas liquids.
He added that this interruption represents about half of the Kingdom's production of crude oil, equivalent to about 6% of global production. He stated that in the past two days, the damage has been contained and more than half of the production which disrupted as a result of this blatant sabotage has been recovered. So Saudi Aramco will meet its full obligations to its customers this month, by withdrawing from its crude oil stocks and adjusting the mix of some oils. The Kingdom's production capacity will return to 11 million barrels per day by the end of September, and to 12 million barrels per day by the end of November. Production of dry gas, ethane and gas liquids will gradually return to pre-aggression levels by the end of this month.
Locally, he said that the utilities sector of electricity and water desalination was not affected at all by the interruption of gas supplies, as it was compensated by withdrawing from reserve stocks and shifting to other fuels, and the local market supplies of petroleum products from gasoline and diesel were not affected. The petrochemical industry's supply of ethane has begun to recover gradually, with the understanding and cooperation of industry representatives, and sincere thanks for their cooperation.
The Minister of Energy said that due to the rapid response of the company, the activation of the emergency system and the efficiency and dedication of its employees, citizens and expatriates, had a great role in overcoming the crisis and confirming the company's reliability and strength and preparing for the initial launch of its shares in the market, regardless of the effects of blatant aggression. He stated that the aggression that targeted the Kingdom and its oil sector is not only targeting the Kingdom, but will have a negative impact on the global economy and the security of energy supplies, and we have seen its impact on the financial markets and commodity markets in the aftermath of this attack and the increased pessimistic outlook on the growth prospects of the global economy.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz said that the repeated attacks on oil installations or international shipping lines represent at the same time an attack on all countries, whether developing or developed, and therefore the international community is required to protect its interests and economies, by taking a more resolute and firm stance to deter and punish the countries that stand or fund these blatant acts of sabotage and prevent their repetition, especially as the Kingdom seeks to continue its role as a safe and reliable source of supplies and continue its known role to work to stabilize the market and supply security.