Saudi Struggling to Contain Massive Blaze at Aramco Facility (+Videos)
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Saudi firefighters are struggling to bring under control a big fire that broke out before dawn at a Saudi Aramco facility in the eastern city of Abqaiq.
According to AP, an explosion has caused the massive blaze at the major Saudi Aramco oil-processing facility, a Saudi-owned satellite channel reported on Saturday, without offering a cause for the blast.
Online videos apparently from Abqaiq, which is near Dammam in the kingdom's Eastern Province, included the sound of gunfire in the background. Smoke rose over the skyline and glowing flames could be seen a distance away.
State media in Saudi Arabia did not immediately report on the incident.
The Dubai-based satellite channel Al Arabiya first acknowledged the blaze, citing its own correspondent in the area. The channel claimed the blaze had been brought under control, without elaborating or offering a cause.
Abqaiq, about 60 km (37 miles) southwest of Dhahran in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, contains the world’s largest oil processing plant. Most Saudi oil exported from the Persian Gulf is processed there.
