Car Bombers Foiled at Saudi Oil Site
By SALAH NASRAWI, Associated Press Writer
news.yahoo.com
Suicide bombers in explosives-laden cars attempted to attack an oil processing facility that handles about two-thirds of Saudi Arabia's petroleum output on Friday, but were stopped when guards opened fire on them, causing the cars to explode, officials said.
The Saudi oil minister said the blast "did not affect operations" at the Abqaiq facility, denying an earlier report on Al-Arabiya television that the flow of oil was halted briefly after a pipeline was damaged.
The facility "continued to operate normally. Export operations continued in full," the minister, Ali Naimi, said in a statement.
The price of oil jumped by more than $1.20 on world markets as they heard of the attack. The April delivery price of Nymex sweet light crude, the U.S. benchmark, rose $1.26 to $61.80. The European benchmark, Brent crude, leaped $1.21 to $61.75 for April delivery.
The huge Abqaiq processing facility, also known as Buqayq, handles around two-thirds or so of Saudi Arabia's oil output, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Intelligence Agency.
It was the first attack on an oil facility in the kingdom, which has waged a fierce three-year crackdown on Islamic militants — though al-Qaida-linked militants have previously attacked oil company offices. There was no immediate word on who was behind the attack, which took place in a region where Saudi Arabia's Shiite minority is centered.
The attack occurred when two cars tried to drive through the gates of the heavily secured facility, Interior Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Mansour al-Turki told The Associated Press.
Guards opened fire on the cars, and both vehicles exploded, al-Turki said.
But there were varying reports on the details. A Saudi journalist who arrived at the scene soon after the explosion said only one car exploded and that the guards killed two people in a second car before it blew up.
Guards then battled for two hours with two other militants outside the facility, the reported told AP. He said he saw workers repairing a pipeline.
Al-Naimi, the oil minister, said "security forces and Aramco security officials managed to thwart a terrorist attack against" the installation. He said the attack caused "a small fire" but it was brought under control and did not affect operations.
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