Fire at Saudi Aramco's Jazan refinery extinguished after Houthi drone claim
A fire at Saudi Aramco's Jazan refinery near the Yemeni border was extinguished early Sunday with no injuries, as Houthi rebels claimed a drone strike on the facility.
Fire at Jazan refinery
A fire broke out early on Sunday at a facility belonging to Saudi Aramco's refinery in Jizan, a city on the Red Sea near the border with Yemen. Saudi Aramco's industrial firefighting teams extinguished the blaze, and no injuries were reported, according to the Saudi energy ministry, which announced the incident on X. The ministry said authorities "are completing the necessary procedures to deal with the incident" but did not specify the cause of the fire. Jizan is located at the southern tip of Saudi Arabia, close to the Yemeni frontier. The ministry's announcement did not provide details on the extent of damage to the facility.
Houthi claim of responsibility
Yahya Saree, military spokesman for the Houthi-led government in Sanaa, wrote on X that the group had carried out a drone strike on the refinery. The claim was the latest in a series of Houthi assertions of strikes targeting Saudi oil sites.
succeeded in targeting the Aramco refinery in Jizan with a drone, and the strike was precise
He said the attack came in response to Saudi Arabia's "breach of the airspace of the provinces of Saada and Hajjah" with drones. There was no immediate comment from Riyadh on the Houthi claim. Al Jazeera contacted the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a response.
The Jazan refinery
The Jazan refinery processes approximately 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day and produces refined products including gasoline and diesel with ultra-low sulfur content. The facility sits near the Red Sea at the border with Yemen. Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said last week that recent attacks on company facilities had caused some production interruptions but expressed confidence that operations could be restored quickly. He said the attacks had no material operational or financial impact on the company.
- Houthis claimed attacks on Aramco facilities in Jizan and Yanbu
- Houthis attacked Najran region (11 civilians injured); Riyadh signed defence pact with Turkey and Pakistan
- Fire at Aramco Jazan refinery extinguished; Houthis claimed drone strike
Pattern of escalating attacks
The incident follows a series of Houthi strikes targeting Saudi oil infrastructure and territory in recent weeks. On July 25, Houthi rebels claimed to have carried out multiple attacks on "sensitive" Aramco installations in Jizan and Yanbu, Saudi Arabia's principal west coast export gateway. On Friday, August 7, the Houthis launched an attack on the Saudi region of Najran near the Yemeni border, in which at least 11 civilians were injured by projectiles fired at civilian properties and installations. The Houthis also declared a maritime blockade on Saudi-linked shipping in the Red Sea last month, threatening traffic through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, in response to what the rebels described as a Saudi "blockade" on areas under their control. According to Mediafax, the blockade was imposed at Tehran's request, in an attempt to pressure regional allies of the United States.
Regional context
Saudi Arabia has been one of the main participants in the Yemen war since 2015, leading an Arab coalition that continues to the present day, supporting the internationally recognised Yemeni government against the Houthis, who took control of the capital Sanaa in 2014 and advanced through large parts of the country. The recent attacks have added to growing strains on a 2022 truce in the conflict. On Friday, August 7, Riyadh signed a defence pact with Turkey and Pakistan amid rising regional tensions from what Al Jazeera described as the "US-Israel war on Iran." Saudi authorities have also blamed Iran-aligned armed groups in Iraq for attacks on its oil facilities.
