Saudi Arabia’s capital came under direct threat early Saturday as air-raid alerts sounded over Riyadh and explosions were heard, followed by a large plume of black smoke rising from a fuel storage depot at King Khalid International Airport. The incident marks the first time Houthi attacks have visibly affected the Saudi capital since fighting with […]
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NASA fire-detection satellites and open-source thermal data captured two intense fires at the Aramco complex in Yanbu on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, each radiating roughly 40 megawatts of heat—far above the 5–10 megawatts typical of a routine flare. The detections, highlighted in reporting shared by Chris Martenson quoting Mario Nawfal, come as Yanbu has […]
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The Middle East energy map tightened sharply over the past week even as China resumed heavier crude buying. Houthi forces seized key Red Sea positions including Mocha and Perim Island, tightening control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and targeting Saudi-linked vessels. Drones originating from Iraq struck Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, prompting a precautionary shutdown of […]
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What does this mean for the U.S. Diesel and Oil Markets? That is no longer a theoretical risk. With the Strait of Hormuz still effectively closed to most traffic by the U.S.-Iran war and Houthi forces tightening their grip on Bab el-Mandeb, the kingdom’s last high-volume workaround—the East-West pipeline to Yanbu—is under fire. The combination […]
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Open-source satellite imagery and fire-detection data circulating Friday morning have raised the possibility that Yemen’s Houthis struck a pumping station on Saudi Arabia’s East-West crude pipeline, the kingdom’s main overland route around the Strait of Hormuz. The claim is serious. It is also, as of this writing, unconfirmed by Saudi Aramco and the Saudi government. […]
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Saudi Arabia has told OPEC that its crude production collapsed again in August 2026, falling 1.9 million barrels per day to 6.238 million b/d—the lowest level the kingdom has reported since 1990, at the outset of the Gulf War. Riyadh attributed the drop to renewed U.S.–Iran hostilities that squeezed its export routes. That official communication, […]
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In Jurassic Park, Dr. Ian Malcolm delivers one of cinema’s most memorable lines: “Life finds a way.” Nature adapts, persists, and routes around obstacles no matter how carefully the fences are built. In the summer of 2026, crude oil is doing the same thing. Blockades and attacks have choked the Strait of Hormuz and the […]
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Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi forces claimed a ballistic missile strike on the Saudi-flagged VLCC Amzan (IMO 9693745, Bahri-owned, approximately 320,926 deadweight tons, built 2014) in the northern Red Sea off Yanbu on August 24, 2026. The attack formed part of the group’s ongoing “siege for siege” campaign enforcing a maritime ban on Saudi-linked shipping, which began […]
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Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement claimed on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, that its forces targeted Saudi Aramco’s Jazan (also spelled Jizan) oil refinery on the Red Sea coast in southwest Saudi Arabia with “a number of drones.” A Houthi military source told the group’s Saba news agency the strike was “precise” and conducted in response to […]
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Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis claimed a drone strike on Saudi Aramco’s Jazan (also spelled Jizan) refinery on Sunday, August 9, 2026, just two days after the kingdom signed a major trilateral defense pact. Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry reported a fire at a facility within the complex that was extinguished with no injuries. This marks the latest […]
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