Agence France Press notes that in a tight oil market a successful attack on a major oil installation would have major repercussions. Consider this:
On February 24, Saudi security forces foiled an attack on oil installations in Abqaiq, which account for 70 percent of the country’s output, and 10 percent of the world’s, sending jitters through the oil sector. According to Gal Luft, head of the U.S.-based Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (IAGS), the attack – had it succeeded – would have cut four to six million barrels per day out of an already tight oil market. “It would have exceeded all of the oil taken off the market by the OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) during the 1973 Arab oil embargo,” he said.
Hopefully, the U.S. will have implemented a real energy policy before a major attack is pulled off. I’m not holding my breath, though.
