Houthis Claim Second Attack in a Month on Aramco's Jizan Refinery

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed on Sunday, August 9, a drone attack on the Aramco refinery in Jizan, in southwestern Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Ministry of Energy confirmed a fire at the facility, extinguished without casualties, though it did not specify the cause, according to AP.

This is the second attack on the refinery in less than a month. Aramco had suspended operations at the 400,000-barrel-per-day (b/d) plant on July 27, following a Houthi attack that damaged its integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) complex and tank farm, according to a note from consultancy IIR cited by Reuters; resumption had been scheduled for August 15. Saree attributed Sunday's attack to Saudi drone incursions into the airspace of Saada and Hajjah provinces, and described the strike as precise. Last month, the Houthis declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, threatening transit through the Bab el-Mandeb strait, Al Jazeera reported.

The refinery produces gasoline and ultra-low-sulfur diesel, and exported an average of more than 200,000 b/d over the past three months, according to Kpler data cited by Reuters. Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said last week that recent attacks had caused production disruptions he expects to reverse quickly, with no material impact on operations or finances. The company's industrial safety teams extinguished the fire in the early hours of Sunday. The attack came two days after Saudi Arabia signed a defense pact with Turkey and Pakistan, and is part of a series of incidents the Houthis have claimed against Aramco facilities in Jizan and Yanbu.

The restart of Jizan had been scheduled for August 15; Sunday's fire puts that date in doubt. The key variable to watch is whether Aramco confirms that date or pushes it back, and whether the Houthis sustain their attacks on Saudi Red Sea infrastructure, where record U.S. production cushions the global supply risk.

This report was produced with artificial intelligence assistance from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.