Saudi Arabia predicts huge spike in oil prices if no global action is taken ‘to deter Iran’

Published time: 30 Sep, 2019 09:03

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Workers are seen at the damaged site of Saudi Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia, September 20, 2019. © Reuters / Hamad l Mohammed 

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman warned that oil prices could skyrocket if the world does not join forces to deter Iran’s alleged aggression. He noted, however, that he would rather see a political solution to the conflict.

“If the world does not take a strong and firm action to deter Iran, we will see further escalations that will threaten world interests. Oil supplies will be disrupted and oil prices will jump to unimaginably high numbers that we haven’t seen in our lifetimes,” bin Salman told the CBS program ‘60 Minutes,’ which was aired on Sunday.

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“This attack [hit] the heart of the global energy industry. It disrupted 5.5 percent of the world’s energy needs, the needs of the US and China, and the whole world,” the Saudi Prince said, referring to the September 14 attacks, which hit two processing facilities of Saudi’s state-run Aramco. The incident briefly cut the Saudi oil giant’s daily output in half, sending global oil prices into a maelstrom.

While no evidence had been presented, the United States and Saudi Arabia have blamed Iran for the attacks. Tehran has dismissed all allegations of its involvement.

Despite harsh remarks towards Iran on the matter, the Saudi Prince stated that he would rather see a political solution to the argument, rather than a full-blown war.

“The political and peaceful solution is much better than the military one,” he said.

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While repairs at the Aramco facilities are continuing, the company has been determined to keep export levels from falling. According to last week’s reports, Aramco had about 50 million barrels in storage within the country prior to the attack, plus around 80 million barrels at ports around the world.