3 weeks ago
Fire at Saudi Aramco Jazan Facility Extinguished After Suspected Targeting
Early one morning, a fire broke out at one of Saudi Arabia's big oil factories in a city called Jazan.
The company that runs the factory, Saudi Aramco, put the fire out with its own firefighting teams.
Good news: nobody was hurt.
No one has officially said yet why the fire started.
Some news reports said there was a loud boom in another Saudi city, Jubail, and that gas buildings there may have been attacked, but nobody has proven the two events are connected.
Last month, a group from Yemen called the Houthis said they attacked Aramco facilities in Jazan and Yanbu with missiles and drones.
Saudi Arabia has not confirmed that the Houthis caused this fire.
The Houthis also said they would block shipping in the Red Sea, and Saudi Arabia disagreed with their claims.
People are paying extra attention because Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey just signed an agreement to help defend each other if any of them is attacked.
A fire at a Saudi Aramco refinery facility in Jazan, southwestern Saudi Arabia, was extinguished by the company's industrial security firefighting teams, with no injuries reported.
The Saudi Ministry of Energy did not immediately specify the cause of the fire, saying competent authorities were completing procedures to deal with the incident.
Regional reports said a loud explosion was heard in the Jubail region and that gas facilities in Jubail Industrial City had been targeted and caught fire, but no link to the Jazan fire was confirmed.
Yemen's Houthis said in a July 27 statement that they had targeted Aramco-affiliated facilities in Jazan and Yanbu with missiles and drones, but Saudi Arabia has not officially confirmed a Houthi attack caused the fire.
The incident came days after Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, which treats an armed attack on any one of the three states as an attack on all.
- Who
- Saudi Aramco's industrial security firefighting teams and the Saudi Ministry of Energy; Yemen's Houthis have claimed similar prior attacks on Aramco facilities.
- What
- A fire broke out at a Saudi Aramco refinery facility in Jazan and was extinguished, with no injuries reported and the cause not immediately specified.
- Where
- Jazan, southwestern Saudi Arabia, on the Red Sea near the border with Yemen.
- When
- At dawn on Sunday, corresponding to 26/2/1448 AH in the Islamic calendar.
- Why
- The cause was not immediately specified; the fire came amid regional reports that Saudi energy infrastructure had been targeted and days after Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed a joint defence agreement.
Houthi / Regional Resistance Stance
Saudi Official Stance
Cause of the Jazan fire
Houthi / Regional Resistance Stance
The Houthis claimed attacks on Aramco-affiliated facilities in Jazan and Yanbu, and regional reports suggested Saudi energy infrastructure, including gas facilities in Jubail, had been targeted.
Saudi Official Stance
The Saudi Ministry of Energy did not specify the cause, and Saudi Arabia has not officially confirmed that the fire resulted from a Houthi attack or that the Jubail report was linked to Jazan.
Red Sea naval blockade
Houthi / Regional Resistance Stance
The Houthis announced a naval blockade of Riyadh in the Red Sea, particularly along the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, citing a Saudi blockade of Yemen.
Saudi Official Stance
Riyadh rejected the Houthi claim that Saudi Arabia has blockaded Yemen.
Key facts
- Incident
- Fire at Saudi Aramco refinery facility in Jazan, extinguished by industrial security firefighting teams
- Casualties
- No injuries reported
- Cause
- Not immediately specified by the Saudi Ministry of Energy
- Date
- Dawn on Sunday, 26/2/1448 AH
- Location
- Jazan, southwestern Saudi Arabia, on the Red Sea near the Yemen border
- Unconfirmed reports
- Loud explosion heard in the Jubail region; IRIB reported gas facilities in Jubail Industrial City were targeted — no confirmed link to the Jazan fire
- Houthi claims
- July 27 statement claimed missile and drone attacks on Aramco-affiliated facilities in Jazan and Yanbu
- Related development
- Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on Friday
Quotes
Saudi Ministry of Energy
Government ministry responsible for energy affairs
“Industrial Security Firefighting Teams affiliated with Saudi Aramco extinguished a fire that broke out at dawn today, Sunday, corresponding to 26/2/1448 AH, in one of the facilities belonging to the Saudi Aramco Refinery in Jazan, with no injuries”
deccanchronicle.com
m.rediff.com
Brigadier General Yahya Saree Qasim Saree
Houthi military spokesman
“The group had targeted sensitive Aramco facilities in Jazan with ballistic missiles and drones, and facilities in Yanbu with ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones.”
deccanchronicle.com
m.rediff.com
Sources
Related news
Houthis claim drone strike on Saudi Aramco refinery in Jazan
Israeli Reports Claim Houthis Struck Saudi Gas Facility in Jubail
Houthis Claim Drone Strike on Saudi Aramco Facility in Najran
Tanker Fire After Unknown Projectile Strike Near Saudi Arabia
Houthis Claim Drone Attacks on Saudi Airport, Aramco Facility
Houthis claim drone strike on Saudi Aramco refinery in Jizan
Saudi, Turkey and Pakistan Build Riyadh Defence Pact Secretariat
Pakistan-Turkiye-Saudi Defence Pact Raises Serious Questions for India
India Watches Cautiously as MECCA Pact Members Meet
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye Hold First Makkah Pact Meeting
Bangladesh Weighs Joining Mecca Pact Amid Non-Alignment Concerns
