April 7 (Reuters) – Iran on Tuesday attacked Saudi Arabia’s Jubail petrochemical complex, the heart of the kingdom’s refining sector, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement, although it was not immediately clear what exactly was hit.
Jubail, a booming industrial city, is home to large, multibillion-dollar joint ventures between state-backed oil giant Saudi Aramco and its petrochemical subsidiary SABIC, and major Western energy companies.
The Guard said the attacks were ‘in response to the enemy’s crimes in the aggression against (Iran’s) Asaluyeh petrochemical plants’.
Continues after advertising
It was not immediately clear which facility or facilities were hit. Video footage verified by Reuters showed smoke and flames coming from the direction of Jubail.
The Guard said it had ‘effectively struck with medium-range missiles and several suicide drones’ the Sadara complex, a $20 billion joint venture between Aramco and Dow that was shut down last week, and other facilities in Jubail, including one owned by ExxonMobil.
The Guard also said it struck a petrochemical facility in neighboring Juaymah. However, it indicated that the facility was owned by Chevron Phillips and the company does not appear to have any facilities there, but rather in Jubail.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense previously stated that air defenses intercepted and destroyed seven ballistic missiles launched towards the kingdom’s eastern region, adding that debris from the intercepted missiles fell near energy installations.
Aramco declined to comment on the reported attacks in Jubail and Juaymah. The Saudi government communications office and SABIC did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
