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Source: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2446
Al-Qaeda Attack on Abqaiq: The Vulnerability of Saudi Oil
(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Simon Henderson - The February 24 attack by al-Qaeda on Saudi Arabia's giant oil processing facility at Abqaiq, which handles more than half Saudi Arabia's daily exports, should serve as a warning. Osama bin Laden, in a December 2004 audio message, had called for attacks against oil, and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, repeated the call in autumn 2005. Washington must be keenly aware that Saudi oil production remains extremely vulnerable to sabotage. At particular risk must be the twelve thousand miles of pipelines in the kingdom.