Asia and Aramco Attack: Wall Street Journal

Drone and missile strikes at the oil infrastructure of Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich eastern province put oil-thirsty Asian countries under pressure. These strikes on Sept 14 reduced the global oil output by almost 6 percent and increased the global oil price by 15 percent two days later. The United States has placed sanctions upon Iran and Venezuela in recent years, and Asian countries, including China, Japan, South Korea and India, try to diversify their oil sources by increasing imports from Saudi Arabia to meet increasing domestic demand due to economic development. To mitigate the negative influence of the sudden events like the attacks in Saudi Arabia, Asian countries have established strategic oil reserves and pursue substitute supplies from other oil-producing countries and domestic production. Although Saudi Aramco assured Indian authorities and refiners that there wouldn’t be a shortage of crude supplies, worries linger about geopolitical uncertainty and long-term stable output. – YaleGlobal