Saudi Aramco has changed the way it responds to attacks on its facilities, allowing it to start repairs far sooner than before, according to its chief executive. Amin Nasser made the claim in an interview last week. He pointed to the company’s recovery from an attack last month on its biggest oil pipeline.
Satellite images showed one of the pipeline’s pumping stations reduced to ashes after drones struck it. By the following day, dozens of bulldozers were already building a replacement line. Nasser said the company’s crews can now deal with several incidents at the same time and that this ability is still being developed.
How the 2019 Abqaiq attack reshaped Aramco’s planning
Nasser traced the change back to drone and missile strikes on the Abqaiq processing facility in 2019, which temporarily knocked out half of Aramco’s production. The company then created rapid-response teams, which it calls zero-hour responders, he said. Aramco also began preparing for the possibility of several attacks on its facilities at once, a firm long regarded as one of the most technically advanced oil producers.
These measures have been tested repeatedly since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February this year. Iran and its proxies retaliated with strikes that hit infrastructure across the Middle East. On Tuesday, a Houthi attack struck the company’s headquarters complex, causing extensive damage, and the firm’s crisis-management systems were tested again.
Drones, stockpiles and local supply speed up repairs
Nasser said Aramco has built three main capabilities:
- specialised rapid-response teams
- expanded emergency stockpiles for repairs
- drones deployed to assess damage while incidents are still unfolding
Normally, oil companies contain an incident before they assess the damage. Aramco starts its assessment with drones while the incident is still under way, Nasser said. “Inspection drones provide an exceptional level of visibility and detail,” he said. “By the time the situation is under control, we are ready to get to work.”
Response teams can send repair materials to a site before work begins. Nasser said about 90% of the materials needed for repairs are either produced locally or held in a local warehouse, after years of building supply chains and inventories. He added that technology has shortened the time between an attack and the start of repairs. The company’s response is now more than six times faster than the industry average, meaning a facility can often restart within days, even after significant damage.
Nasser said the ability to keep production running despite repeated attacks has become a selling point with customers. “They see that Aramco is able to deliver under different scenarios.”
Output recovery and exposed export routes
Data from the International Energy Agency showed Saudi daily oil output stayed below 7 million barrels for most of the first six months of the war, down from more than 10 million barrels before it began. Output recovered to about 8 million barrels a day in September. Saudi oil exports, like those of other Gulf producers, have been constrained by attacks on tankers and a shortage of ships restricting crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
Nasser said export routes remain vulnerable to disruptions beyond Aramco’s control. The company is studying possible alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb and Suez, he said, without giving details. “Details will be disclosed if and when a final decision is made,” he said.
