Saudi Arabia has called on the international community to take tougher measures to stop  attacks that threaten the region, the security of oil supplies and the global economy; and to hold accountable those behind the perpetrators of these barbaric acts.

 

International community must shoulder its responsibilities in condemning the recent attack on its oil installations, the forces behind it and clearly confronting these acts that touch the nerve of the global economy, the Cabinet said, according to a Saudi Press Agecny report.

 

The Cabinet, chaired by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, stressed that the kingdom will defend its lands and vital facilities and it is able to respond to those acts whatever their source.

 

The Cabinet has reiterated that the aim of the unprecedented attack on the kingdom's oil facilities threatens international peace and security and is directed primarily at global energy supplies.

 

It said the sabotage is an extension of previous acts of aggression on Saudi Aramco's pumping stations by using Iranian weapons.

 

The Cabinet was briefed by the Minister of Energy on the serious consequences of the blatant sabotage of Saudi Aramco oil plants in Abqaiq and Khurais, which according to preliminary estimates led to the suspension of 5.7 million barrels per day of crude oil supplies, in addition to the suspension of the production of about 2 billion cubic feet of associated gas, and a decrease of about 50% in the supplies of ethane gas and natural gas liquids.

 

The Cabinet affirmed that the cowardly attack on the largest and most important crude oil processing plants in the world is an extension of repeated attacks on vital facilities which threatened the freedom of navigation and affected the stability of the growth of the global economy.