Houthi Drone Attacks Strike Shaybah Oil Tanker Field and Dammam Airport
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Houthi rebels launched drone attacks against the Shaybah oil field and Dammam International Airport in Saudi Arabia, targeting an oil processing plant. Saudi Arabia's energy ministry reported that production was not affected by the attack.
Casualties
According to Maritime Executive, one drone was intercepted outside the perimeter of the Shaybah plant, but its debris struck a contractor's vehicle, killing one Filipino national and one Nepalese national, and injuring one Pakistani and one Indian worker; a parallel attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam killed two other people. Hellenic Shipping News, citing Investing.com, reported different figures: at least one person was killed and eight were injured in the attack on Dammam's civilian airport, while a separate drone attack killed two people near Saudi Aramco's Shaybah field.
Market Impact
Oil prices reacted immediately: ICE Brent climbed back above $110 per barrel after news of the attacks broke, according to ING, and by the close of trading in New York on Thursday it had risen to nearly $113, according to Maritime Executive. European natural gas also spiked, with the Dutch TTF contract rising 1% to €88.70 per megawatt-hour and the British NBP advancing 1% to 218.45 pence per therm, levels close to the highs seen in late 2022.
Evacuations
The escalation led the US State Department to order the departure of non-essential diplomatic personnel from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco, for its part, ordered the evacuation of its headquarters in Dhahran, which had already been targeted in a Houthi attack earlier this month.
Reactions and Other Incidents
Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi called the attacks treacherous and accused the Houthi militia of persisting in its criminal approach of targeting civilians and vital facilities. In parallel, the Iranian government reported that three tankers struck naval mines near the Strait of Hormuz and that four others suffered kinetic attacks during ship-to-ship transfer operations, though these reports were not confirmed and UKMTO reported no new incidents in the past 24 hours.
