BANGKOK, 16 September 2019 (NNT) – Energy Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong said today that Saturday’s drone attacks on two major oil refinery plants in Saudi Arabia, which is the world’s largest oil exporting country, have not affected Thailand as an oil importing country.
Mr Sontirat said the Ministry of Energy has reveived reports on the attack on the oil refinery plants owned by Aramco, a giant oil firm in Saudi Arabia. The Ministry of Energy has coordinated with Aramco and relevant persons and has been assured that everything is under control while the damage is being assessed.
The drone attacks haven’t had any effect on the exports of Saudi oil since the refinery plants which were set ablaze are in the desert. The attacks did not affect Aramco’s oil tank farm from which oil is exported to the Petroleum Authority of Thailand. However, the Ministry of Energy has laid out plans to cope with emergency situations, similar to those applied during the earlier Hormuz Strait incident.
Thailand has an adequate volume of crude oil in reserve and sufficient refined oil and would have no shortage problem if Saudi oil exports were in trouble on a short-term basis. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Energy plans to hold meetings with relevant agencies to closely monitor the situation.
