Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz
RIYADH -- Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz stressed Tuesday his country’s ability to handle the effects of "cowardly" attacks, which targeted two oil facilities of state-owned Aramco oil company.
His remarks, in which he expressed his appreciation for the international condemnations, came during a Cabinet meeting on the drone attacks Saturday.
These attacks "didn't only target vital installations of the kingdom, but also target global oil supplies and threaten the stability of the global economy," he said.
Saudi Arabia temporarily cut oil production from the two oil facilities, which corresponds to nearly 2 million barrels per day.
The US accused Iran of directing the attacks while Saudi Arabia awaits the results of the investigation.
Since 2015, a Saudi-led coalition has been fighting the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Thousands of Yemenis were killed and pushed the country to the brink of famine.
Houthis, whose mid and long-range ballistic missiles are usually intercepted by Saudi air defense systems, have recently been used to target certain strategic parts of Saudi Arabia with armed drones.
Several countries around the world condemned the attack including the US, the UK, and Turkey.
Oil supplies return to pre-attack level
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on Tuesday said oil supplies returned to their level before Saturday attacks on the Saudi state-run Aramco facilities.
Aramco will meet its full supply this month through a drawdown of strategic stocks, the minister told reporters.
Saudi Arabia's oil production will reach 11 million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of September and will continue to rise to 12 million bpd by the end of November, the minister added.
Following the drones attacks – which Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for -- on Aramco oil facilities, Riyadh has said its oil production has decreased by 5.7 million barrels to about half of the usual daily volume. (Anadolu)
