Saudi Arabia saw oil production plummet by nearly 60%, or 5.7 million barrels per day, following aerial attacks on the Khurais oil field and a major processing facility in Abqaiq on September 14. Nevertheless, industry sources have informed the Energy Intelligence Group that Riyadh is already well on the way to restoring production capacity.
According to the sources, Saudi Aramco had already brought 40% of its suspended production back on stream – 2 million bpd at the Abqaiq facility and nearly 300,000 bpd at the Khurais field – as of September 16. The company expects to restart the remaining 60% by the end of September, one source claimed.
Saudi Aramco is keen to resume production at previous levels. It has acted quickly and spent freely in order to hire local and foreign contractors to evaluate the damage at Abqaiq and Khurais and begin repairs.