Repairing Attacked Saudi Oil Facilities Could Take a Year, Not Weeks

The impact of the September 14 missile attacks on Saudi Aramco’s oil facilities is turning out to be far more devastating than initially thought. New reports are coming in that the repair work might end up taking months longer than the company had initially hoped for — even though Aramco is willing to pay premium rates on the repair work to ensure that things get back into order at the attacked facilities at the earliest.

Saudi Officials Have Set an Unrealistic Deadline

Saudi Aramco is currently in talks with several contractors and equipment makers to ensure that the attacked facilities can be brought back into the production mode in as little as 10 weeks. However, according to a Wall Street Journal report, that might not be the case — regardless of how much money the company throws into expediting the repair work.

Aramco is telling contractors to spare no expense getting facilities in working order after missile attacks on its largest oil-processing facilities https://t.co/ifqXtFba3O

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) September 22, 2019

Apparently, the damages to the facilities are so severe that it could take months for Aramco to bring them back into full working order. Citing input from a top company official, the Wall Street Journal claims that Aramco is already bringing shiploads of equipment from several partners across the U.S. and Europe to expedite the ongoing repair work. However, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to source spare parts needed for rebuilding the sites. The overall costs of the repair are estimated to go into hundreds of millions of dollars. But even more worryingly, the whole operation of manufacturing, shipping, and installing the spare parts and equipment could take up to a year.

Aramco Officials Plays Down Impact on Oil

Despite the obvious troubles, Saudi Aramco officials have so far played down the impact of the attacks. Late last week, CEO Amin Nasser went on record and promised that the company is committed to restoring the pre-crisis production level by the end of September. Nasser further claimed that the company didn’t miss out on even a single shipment to its global customers after the crisis erupted on Sep 14. All being said, the attack, claimed by Yemen-based Houthi rebels, has raised serious questions about Saudi Arabia’s capability to protect its oil facilities from airborne attacks. The Saudi government pays billions of dollars to procure a sophisticated defense system from the U.S. for the very purpose of defending its oil fields. This is particularly concerning, considering that the country’s economy is still heavily dependent on its oil sector. Meanwhile, the blame-game surrounding the attack continues as the U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has now joined U.S. President Donald Trump and the Saudi government in blaming Iran for the Aramco attacks. Iran, which has so far dismissed any link to the attacks, warned “foreign forces” to stay out of the Gulf and threatened a full-scale war if it was militarily targeted. Do you think any further delay in Aramco’s repair work could ignite a global oil crisis leading to steep price hikes? Share your thoughts in the comments below. 

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