Houthi attack on Saudi petroleum reserves, crude prices hit a 14-month high

Riyadh / Bangkok, Ta. Monday, March 8, 2021

Huthi rebels from Yemen, a neighboring country to Saudi Arabia, regularly attack Saudi Arabia's petroleum reserves. The rebels have the support of Iran and the Yemeni government has not been able to stop them.

So on Sunday, the Houthis attacked the petroleum reserves of the Saudi Arabian petroleum company Armaco. The attack did not cause much damage, but it did raise international oil prices.

Petroleum prices rose 3% to 70 70.47 a barrel (1 barrel or 159 liters) in international markets after the missile strike on Sunday. The incident came 14 months after the price crossed પાર 70.

Last year, both demand and prices of petroleum were under control due to the lockdown. Experts are worried that the fight between the Saudi government and the Houthi attackers could push up petroleum-crude prices in the international market. India is dependent on other countries for petroleum.

Saudi Arabia is one of the largest sellers of petroleum to India. Last year, India imported 85 per cent of its total crude oil. A huge bill of 120 120 billion was paid for these imports. Now, if the international prices of petroleum go up, the prices of petroleum products, petrol and diesel in India are likely to go up.

A Houthi spokesman, who also claimed responsibility for the attack, said: "We were attacked by 14 drones and eight ballistic missiles. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has decided not to increase production beyond certain limits. Demand for this specialty has grown significantly as a result of recent corporate scandals. Even in that case, the price may go up.