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Aramco is shipping equipment from the United States and Europe
to rebuild the damaged facilities, Fahad Abdulkarim, Aramco's
general manager for the southern area oil operation, told
reporters on a tour organized by the state company.
“We are confident we are going back to the full production we
were at before the attack (on Khurais) by the end of September,”
Abdulkarim said.
Reuters reporters were shown repair work under way, with cranes
erected around two burnt-out stabilization columns, which form
part of oil-gas separation units, and melted pipes.
Two other oil-gas separation units were also hit and the piping
network was riddled with hundreds of holes.
"We are working 24/7," Abdulkarim said. “This is a beehive."
The Saudi defense ministry said on Wednesday that the Khurais
facility was hit by four missiles.
It said 18 drones and three missiles were launched at the other
site, Abqaiq, the world's largest oil processing facility. The
missiles targeting Abqaiq fell short, the ministry said.
Yemen's Houthi group claimed responsibility for the attacks but
a U.S. official said they originated from southwestern Iran.
Tehran, which support the Houthis, has denied any involvement in
the attacks.
Khurais produced 1.2 million barrels per day before the attack.
The attacks reduced nearly halved the kingdom's output, shutting
down 5.7 million bpd in production.
(Reporting by Rania El Gamal and Stephen Khalin; writing by
Maher Chmaytelli; editing by Edmund Blair and Jason Neely)
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