DISRUPTION

Saudis: One-Third of Output Knocked Out by Drone Attack Will Be Back Up Today

Market spikes ease up in early trading; Trump announces he’s authorized the release of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve “if needed.”

Saudi oil officials said they hoped to restore one-third of the kingdom’s lost output by the end of Monday, two days after a drone strike on a crucial facility knocked out what amounted to 5 percent of the world’s oil production. Crude prices had soared by 19 percent on the news of the attack, coupled with President Trump’s announcement that he has authorized the release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve “if needed.” Saudi Aramco said it lost about 5.7 million barrels per day of output on Saturday after 10 armed unmanned aerial vehicles struck the world’s biggest crude-processing facility in Abqaiq and the kingdom’s second-biggest oil field in Khurais. Early Monday, Brent crude, the global gauge of oil prices, pared back its spike to 9 percent, or $65.70 during trading. In New York, futures of the U.S. benchmark were up 8.5 percent to $59.55. The attack caused the single worst sudden disruption ever for oil markets, surpassing the loss of Kuwaiti and Iraqi petroleum supply in August 1990, when Saddam Hussein’s forces invaded Kuwait. Saudi officials told The Wall Street Journal they can fully restore daily production levels within a few days.