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Saudi Oil Facilities Are Vulnerable
Saudi Arabia must build additional capacity in an effort to reduce the vulnerability of its oil facilities from Iranian attack. A study conducted by energy researchers at Rice University, warned that oil facilities in eastern Saudi Arabia could be destroyed by Iranian medium- and intermediate-range missiles. The most vulnerable facility was said to be the Saudi oil processing facility at Abqaiq.The Rice University study, conducted for the Washington-based Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, also warned that Iran could block Saudi oil exports through the Persian Gulf. The study urged the kingdom to upgrade the trans-Saudi Petroline, which would allow 11 million barrels of oil a day to be sent to ports on the Red Sea. The project was estimated at $600 million. "Assuming the worse -- a complete closure of the Straits of Hormuz -- this bypass system is estimated to be capable of reducing the economic impact to the U.S. to a loss of only one percent of gross domestic product," the report said. "This figure could be reduced even further if additional pipelines were built from Abu Dhabi to ports in Oman." Posted by: Fred 2005-05-12 |
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