Saudi Arabia’s ability to supply energy remains resilient amid major market and security turmoil, Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said, as the kingdom suffers attacks on energy and aviation infrastructure.
“Energy resilience is beyond barrels of spare capacity, of pipelines and gigawatts of generation,” the minister said at the WPC Energy Congress in Riyadh. “It must also be measured by the ability to maintain, repair, reroute, substitute and recover. Above all, it must be measured by the ability to continue delivering under pressure.”
The comments come amid waves on attacks · on Saudi Arabia in recent days, with projectiles hitting the airport in Riyadh multiple times that killed at least 14 people and wounded hundreds. The kingdom’s main cross-country pipeline, the primary means for getting oil supplies to the market during the Iran war, had been damaged last month while refineries and a port on the Red Sea coast have been targeted.
Saudi Arabia restarted the East-West pipeline last month, with flows rising to over 80% of the link’s capacity. Meanwhile, state-run Saudi Aramco has boosted crude shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, pushing total oil exports toward prewar levels in September.
“We honor our commitments and strive to fulfill them, no matter the circumstances and no one can break our resolve,” Prince Abdulaziz said on Sunday at International Energy Forum, which took place in Riyadh.
Over the weekend, Saudi Arabia suffered its deadliest strikes since the Iran war began as Houthi militants repeatedly targeted airports across the kingdom, including in Riyadh and Dammam.
The WPC conference has been disrupted by the hostilities, with chief executives of BP Plc and Shell Plc among those withdrawing their in-person attendance. Prince Abdulaziz thanked those who had traveled to the gathering, and said Saudi Arabia would protect visitors.