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Friday, April 26, 2024 5:14 GMT
The UAE's top energy company Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. said Jan. 18 it is taking action to ensure uninterrupted product supply after Yemen's Houthi militia attacked its fuel depot in the capital in a deadly escalation of the Saudi-Iran proxy war in the region.The UAE, OPEC's third biggest oil producer, said it may respond to Houthi "terrorist attacks" in Abu Dhabi Jan. 17 that led three petroleum trucks transporting fuel to go up in flames and caused three deaths, as the Iranian-backed militant group claimed a major military operation in the country."Following the recent incident at Mussafah fuel depot, ADNOC has activated the necessary business continuity plans to ensure the reliable, uninterrupted supply of products to its local and international customers," ADNOC said in a twitter post Jan. 18.The strikes were carried out by five winged and ballistic missiles and several drones on the Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports, an oil refinery and other "important and sensitive Emirati sites and facilities," Houthi spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Sare'e said in a Jan. 17 statement, warning foreign companies, citizens, and residents to stay away from vital installations.The attacks were in retaliation to UAE interference in the Yemeni civil war, he said.The UAE pumped 2.87 million b/d in December, according to the latest S&P Global Platts survey of OPEC+ group's output.ADNOC pumps most of the country's crude and gas and is undertaking various projects to boots it oil production capacity to 5 million b/d by 2030, from 4 million b/d currently.Houthi targetsSaudi Arabia is leading a coalition of countries that have been fighting the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen since 2015.The war has led to several Houthi attacks on vital energy infrastructure and civilian targets in Saudi Arabia, and oil tankers and vessels in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The Jan. 17 assault in the UAE marks a new escalation in the proxy war being fought in Yemen.The Saudi-led coalition vowed to deter any Houthi attacks in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, where it intercepted and destroyed eight bomb-laden drones targeting the kingdom Jan. 17."The Joint Forces Command of the Coalition will undertake all necessary measures to deter these hostile acts of the Houthi militia against civilians, civilian objects and economic installations in the kingdom and the United Arab Emirates ...," coalition spokesman Brigadier General Turki Al-Malki said in a statement carried by state-run Saudi Press Agency.Oil prices were little changed after the Houthi attacks, with S&P Global Platts assessing Dated Brent Jan. 17 at $87.72/b, up 0.87% on the day.Abu Dhabi is also the site of the GCC's first nuclear power plant that the Houthis claimed to have hit in 2017, although there was no evidence of a strike, according to reports at the time.The Saudi-led coalition accused the Houthis of hijacking a UAE-flagged cargo ship, the RWABEE, in the Red Sea, Jan. 3.Security incidents in the Middle East have been rising, with 30 attacks on oil and shipping recorded in 2021, up from eight in 2018, according to the Platts Oil Security Sentinel.