Suicide attack fails at world’s largest oil processing site

SUICIDE bombers in explosives-laden cars attacked the world’s largest oil processing facility yesterday, but were prevented from breaking through the gates when guards opened fire on them, causing the vehicles to explode, officials said.

The Saudi oil minister said the blast “did not affect operations” at the Abqaiq facility, denying an earlier report on Al-Arabiya television that the flow of oil was halted briefly after a pipeline was damaged.

The price of oil jumped by more than $1.20 on world markets as they heard of the attack.

It was the first attack on an oil facility in Saudi Arabia - and it targeted one of the kingdom’s most important. The huge Abqaiq processing facility near the Gulf coast handles around two-thirds of the country’s oil output, according to the US Department of Energy’s Energy Intelligence Agency.

Saudi Arabia has been waging a fierce three-year crackdown on al-Qaida militants, who launched a campaign in 2003 aimed at overthrowing the royal family with a string of attacks - mostly targeting foreigners. In May 2004, militants attacked oil company offices in two cities.

There was no immediate word on who was behind the attack, which took place in a region where Saudi Arabia’s Shi’ite minority is centred.

The attack occurred when two cars tried to drive through the gates of the heavily secured facility, Interior Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Mansour al-Turki said.

Guards opened fire on the cars and both vehicles exploded, Mr al-Turki said. He said two guards were critically wounded.

Suspicions in the Abqaiq attack quickly fell on al-Qaida-linked militants. The attack came despite a string of morale-boosting victories for Saudi security forces in their fight against al-Qaida’s branch in the kingdom.

It raised fears militants adopted a new tactic - trying to emulate Iraqi insurgents, who have succeeded in hobbling that country’s oil industry with sabotage and attacks, said Dubai-based political risk analyst Youssef Ibrahim of the Strategic Energy Investment Group.