Attack on Saudi facility threatens oil supply

Yemen’s Houthi rebels carried out pre-dawn drone and missile strikes Sunday, starting a fire at a state-run terminal and temporarily cutting oil production at another. The extent of the damage is unclear, but there were no casualties reported. Right after the attack, officials said they would pull from reserves to maintain oil supplies. But on Monday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said it would not take responsibility for any shortage in global oil supplies if the reserves did not suffice.

What’s happening to the oil supply now? Energy companies were already struggling to keep up with post-pandemic demand before Western nations sanctioned Russian energy because of the invasion of Ukraine. Saudi Arabia, OPEC, and other oil companies have so far not increased production despite pressure from the Biden administration. The international oil benchmark Brent crude went up by 4 percent Monday to about $112 a barrel. This is down from $140 a barrel earlier this month but still $15 more than before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Dig deeper: Read Hunter Baker’s column in WORLD Opinions supporting U.S. energy production.