Aramco facility fire amid Houthi attacks sparks new concerns over Saudi oil security

RIYADH - Flames and smoke were spotted rising from a Saudi Aramco facility south of Riyadh on October 4, according to an AFP journalist. The source of the fire remains unknown, but Aramco has recently faced attacks from the Houthi group as part of the ongoing Yemeni war, in which Saudi Arabia supports the internationally recognized government.

The journalist reported firefighters attempting to control a blaze at the Aramco refinery in Riyadh, while ambulances and police surrounded the site. Despite this, neither the Houthi rebels nor Saudi authorities have commented on the incident. Aramco, a cornerstone of the Saudi economy and one of the world's largest corporations by market value, has been repeatedly targeted in recent months.

In the previous month, the Houthi group claimed responsibility for launching strikes on "sensitive sites" in Riyadh and Aramco facilities in the port city of Yanbu. Additionally, in August, the Houthis attacked an airport and an Aramco facility in the southern Najran region. Earlier this year, the Houthi group declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia, disrupting tankers in the Red Sea and raising concerns about Saudi Arabia's capacity to export its crude oil.

Yemen has been engulfed in civil war for over a decade. Hearing loud explosions in the capital of Sanaa, AFP correspondents in the city reported that the Houthi rebels had carried out airstrikes in the area.