Saudi Aramco Dhahran Headquarters Suffered Extensive Damage in Attack, Sources Say

Saudi Aramco's headquarters in Dhahran suffered extensive damage during a Tuesday night attack amid intensifying fighting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Iran-allied Houthis, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the matter who spoke to Reuters. Two sources stated that a fire ignited on the ninth floor of the office block's south wing and spread between the sixth and 10th floors, while another source reported that the top three floors housing CEO Amin Nasser's office were severely damaged with a partially caved-in ceiling and blown-out windows and doors. Saudi Arabia's energy ministry stated that the Tuesday night strike caused a limited fire following recent Houthi attacks on Saudi Aramco refinery infrastructure, and two sources noted that operations at the eastern Saudi Arabia complex continued normally despite some employees being asked to work from home. A fourth source reported that the fire continued burning into the early hours of Wednesday and that some functions were transferred to global offices away from the Dhahran facility, which houses an operations center overseeing onshore and offshore rigs, refineries, export terminals, and thousands of kilometers of pipeline.