P.M. BRIEFING : Fire Slashes Saudi Oil Output
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A fire at the world’s biggest oil refinery in Saudi Arabia has slashed output by nearly half, industry sources in the Persian Gulf said today.
They said output at Ras Tannurah, just 160 miles south of occupied Kuwait and a supplier of fuel for the multinational force confronting Iraq, had fallen by 230,000 barrels per day to about 300,000. “Production in one of the crude units is down; no one knows when it will start operating again,” an executive based in Saudi Arabia said.
But industry sources said a loss of 35,000 barrels per day of aviation fuel for the multinational force could easily be made up from supplies elsewhere and would not affect the strike capability of more than 1,000 warplanes.
Saudi Arabian authorities said Friday’s fire was caused by a leaking pipe. Three workers were injured.
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