Saudi Arabia Steps Up Security at Oil Facilities

Speaking at the OPEC ministers meeting in Vienna, Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi said Wednesday his government has tightened security around all its petroleum installations. He said the move was prompted by last month’s attempted suicide bombing of the Abqaiq facility – which is the world’s largest oil processing plant and handles two-thirds of the Kingdom’s overall petroleum output.

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Energy analyst Gal Luft, of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, says market jitters after the Abqaiq incident are no surprise and he warns a successful attack would have devastating economic consequences.

“We are dealing today with an oil market that is extremely tight, Luft said. “There is no spare production capacity, outside of Saudi Arabia and if you have an attack against a Saudi installation that carries two, three, four, five or six million barrels a day, that means the only way the market can equalize itself is through uncontrolled increase in prices, and oil prices could really reach a very high level – way over 100 dollars a barrel.”

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