The smoke from the fires caused by drone strikes on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia seen from space
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As you've probably seen on news, two major oil facilities in Saudi Arabia were attacked with drones, the Abqaiq processing center and the Khurais oilfield. The facilities are run by Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil giant.
The fires caused by the attack were so large, that the smoke could be seen from space. The strikes were claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebel group.
Saudi Arabia fires seen from space
Satellite loop from September 15th, 2019 (8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. UTC) reveals the smoke from the fires, which have since been controlled.
The Abqaiq facility seen below is perhaps the world’s most important oil installation. According to the EIA.gov, the plant has a capacity of >7 million b/d.
Most of the oil produced in the country [Saudi Arabia] is processed at Abqaiq before export or delivery to refineries.
According to Reuters, 5 million barrels a day of crude production had been impacted by the attacks - close to half of the kingdom's output or 5 percent of global oil supply. Later on Saturday, the Houthis said the attacks were carried out by 10 drones and promised to widen the range of their attacks on Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition battling them in neighbouring Yemen, Al Jazeera reports.
14 September 2019
Abqaiq oil processing center
https://www.windy.com/-Satellite-satellite?satellite,17.937,46.198,6,internal
