Businessupdated 1h ago2 min read
Saudi Aramco Orders Staff To Evacuate Dhahran Headquarters And Work Remotely
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Aramco orders evacuation of Dhahran headquarters and remote-work shift. Move follows deadly airport attack and heightened security threats in the region.
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Aramco evacuates Dhahran
Saudi Aramco instructed staff to evacuate its headquarters in Dhahran and work remotely, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing six people with knowledge of the matter. Saudi Aramco said the move marked the first time it had asked staff to evacuate its headquarters since the start of the Iran war, Reuters reported. Saudi Aramco’s Dhahran headquarters houses an operations centre used by the company to monitor onshore and offshore oil rigs, refineries, export terminals and thousands of kilometres of pipelines.
Saudi Aramco’s headquarters had suffered extensive damage earlier this month when Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis struck the building and fire spread across several floors. Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said on Thursday that an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam killed two people and left eight wounded, a day before the Aramco evacuation order.
Security backdrop and rivals
Reuters said six informed sources told it that Aramco ordered employees to leave the Dhahran headquarters and switch to remote work on Thursday. Reuters reported that the decision followed an attack at a nearby airport the previous evening that killed two people, and the reason for the decision remained unclear. Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said the airport is in Dammam, an eastern Saudi oil hub about 15 km (9 miles) north of Dhahran.
Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said on Wednesday two people died after Saudi air defences intercepted a drone attempting to hit a facility at Aramco’s Shaybah oilfield, which lies hundreds of kilometres southeast of Dhahran. Houthis military spokesperson Yahya Saree said on Thursday that the group is rescuing a boat carrying 14 Indians that was attacked off Jabal Zuqar island near the strait, and Saree blamed the attack on Saudi Arabia.
Markets and operational questions
LSEG data showed the kingdom's benchmark index dropped 2.5% on Thursday following the Aramco news, according to The Edge Malaysia. The Edge Malaysia said the instruction to staff to evacuate the building and work remotely followed a wave of Houthi attacks on the kingdom, targeting the company and Saudi airports. Reuters reported that the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on what would be the first evacuation since the start of the Iran war.
The Edge Malaysia said Saudi Arabia has responded to Houthi attacks with a wave of strikes on missile launcher sites, vowing to protect the kingdom, and says it has intercepted many ballistic missiles fired by the group. Reuters reported that the Houthis caused extensive damage to Aramco’s headquarters earlier this month when they struck the building, with fire spreading across several floors.