Oil prices up as drones attack Saudi Aramco facilities
Tensions in Middle East support oil prices as the US blames Iran for the attacks, which the country denies
London — Oil prices rose on Tuesday after the world’s top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, said explosive-laden drones had attacked two pumping stations belonging to state oil company Saudi Aramco. Brent crude futures were at $70.79 a barrel at 10.35am GMT, up 56c or 0.80%. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $61.35 a barrel, up 31c or 0.51%. The Saudi state news agency quoted energy minister Khalid al-Falih as saying that Aramco had halted pumping on the East-West pipeline until the damage was evaluated, but that production and exports were continuing without disruptions. Akl-Falih said the attack was an “act of terrorism” that targeted the world’s global oil supply. Saudi Arabia said earlier that two of its oil tankers were among those attacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday, incidents which ratcheted up tensions in the world’s top oil exporting region. A US official said Iran was the likely culprit, but Iranian officials denied responsibil...
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