BUSINESS

No impact on oil supply from Houthi attack on tanker: Falih

Khalid Al-Falih
RIYADH — Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Falih said on Wednesday an attack by Yemen’s Houthi militias on a Saudi oil tanker would have no impact on oil supplies. The Iran-aligned Houthis attacked the tanker off Yemen’s main port city of Hodeidah on Tuesday. “The terrorist attack ... will not affect economic activity or stall oil supplies,” Falih said on his official Twitter account. Saudi oil industry sources said that oil operations and shipments were proceeding as normal and that oil security around oil facilities inside the Kingdom had not been raised further. The tanker was the vessel Abqaiq, the EU naval force said on Wednesday. The tanker continued on its route “after the rapid intervention of a coalition naval vessel”, a statement by coalition forces said. No casualties were reported. The coalition said the attack “highlighted the dangers posed by Houthi militias and their backers to regional security.” It said the oil tanker was in international waters when it came under “Houthi-Iranian attack” at around 13:30 local time (1030 GMT). — Agencies