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Aramco orders remaining staff out of Dhahran headquarters amid Houthi attacks
Saudi Aramco has told the last employees working at its Dhahran headquarters to leave and work from home, according to AFP and Reuters reports citing unnamed sources, after Houthi attacks on the kingdom's oil sites.
- Gulf News and Devdiscourse are now reporting this
- New headline Was: “Saudi Aramco tells staff to evacuate Dhahran as clashes with Yemen's Houthis continue”
- Our desk filed its story
Wire reporting: (Reuters, via Devdiscourse)
Saudi Aramco has ordered the employees still working at its headquarters in Dhahran, in the kingdom's Eastern Province, to leave the building and work from home until further notice, Gulf News reported, citing AFP1.
Most of the company's staff had already been working remotely since an attack on the headquarters last week, and only essential personnel had stayed on site before the new order, according to sources quoted in the AFP report1.
Reuters, citing six people it did not name, separately reported the evacuation order and said it was the first time the state oil company had cleared its headquarters since the war with Iran began2,3. Aramco did not immediately comment, according to Reuters3.
According to Reuters, a Houthi strike earlier this month damaged the headquarters and started fires on several floors. The building houses an operations center the company uses to monitor its oil fields, refineries, export terminals and pipelines, Reuters reported3,4.
The order follows deadly attacks in the region this week. Reuters reported that Saudi civil aviation officials said two people were killed and eight hurt in an attack Wednesday on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, about 15 kilometers north of Dhahran, and that the energy ministry said two people died when air defenses brought down a drone aimed at a facility at the Shaybah oilfield3.
Neither report gave a timeline for staff to return, and Gulf News said it was unclear whether the move would affect Aramco's operations1,3.
Sources
- Gulf NewsSaudi Aramco orders full evacuation of Dhahran headquarters amid Houthi attacks
- ReutersSaudi Aramco tells staff to evacuate Dhahran headquarters, sources say
- (Reuters, via Devdiscourse)Saudi Aramco tells staff to evacuate Dhahran headquarters, sources sayAlso (Reuters, via Al-Monitor), (Reuters, via Middle East Eye)
How it’s being reported
2 sourcesSaudi Aramco orders full evacuation of Dhahran headquarters amid Houthi attacks
Frames the order as a precaution that completes a move to remote work begun after last week's strike.
Gulf News report by Khitam Al Amir, citing AFP and three anonymous sources, on the order for remaining essential staff to work remotely.
Leaves out Does not mention the attacks near Dammam or the Shaybah oilfield.
Saudi Aramco tells staff to evacuate Dhahran headquarters, sources say
Gives this outlet’s account of the story.
Same copy also at: (Reuters, via Devdiscourse) · (Reuters, via Al-Monitor) · (Reuters, via Middle East Eye)