Monday September 16th… Dear Diary. The main purpose of this ongoing blog will be to track United States extreme or record temperatures related to climate change. Any reports I see of ETs will be listed below the main topic of the day. I’ll refer to extreme or record temperatures as ETs (not extraterrestrials).😉
Another War Over Oil?…The Iranian Question
Over the weekend a drone attack struck an important Saudi Arabian petroleum refinery facility, essentially shutting down a good percentage of that country’s oil production. The Saturday September 14th strikes hit the Abqaiq processing facility, the largest crude processing plant in the world, and the Khurais oil field, which is said to produce more than 1 million barrels of crude oil a day, the Associated Press reports. All fingers as of Monday are pointing toward Iran as the culprit since components of the drones used in the attack were made there. Trump has his fingers on the trigger for a retaliatory response. This situation could escalate very quickly since Saudi Arabia and Iran have been enemies based on theological Shia/Sunni differences for many decades. Israel would probably get involved in any conflict.
And BTW, we already have had one war over oil in Iraq, in my opinion.
Before reporting on this new threat to world peace think about a world that didn’t revolve around crude oil prices. Could a major war really be fought over parts for solar panels and wind turbines, as well as storage batteries? I think not. In 2019 we also are seeing some international friction over newly found oil and gas resources in the Arctic. If green energy had taken root back during the 1980s there would be less friction between Russia, Canada, and the United States.
Dear Diary. Here is more from Time:
https://time.com/5678242/saudi-arabia-oil-iran-drone-attacks/
‘Locked and Loaded,’ the U.S. Blames Iran for a Drone Attack Against Saudi Arabia. Here’s What to Know
Smoke billows from an Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq about 60km (37 miles) southwest of Dhahran in Saudi Arabia’s eastern province on Sept. 14, 2019. -—AFP/Getty Images By Tara Law 11:52 AM EDT
President Donald Trump says the United States is “locked and loaded” after an attack against oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, an American ally and a major producer of the world’s energy supply.
A rebel group in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attacks, which targeted a facility belonging to Saudi Aramco, the Kingdom’s national oil company. However, American officials claim Iran, Saudi Arabia’s regional rival, is to blame.
The finger-pointing has led to a rapid escalation of tensions between the U.S. and Iran, already at a fever pitch following the Trump administration’s withdrawal from a nuclear agreement with Tehran, as well as a series of incidents in the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane.
Here’s what to know about the drone attacks in Saudi Arabia and what lies ahead as the U.S. grapples with an attack against a key ally.
What happened in Saudi Arabia?
Oil facilities belonging to Saudi national energy company Saudi Aramco were struck by a drone attack on Saturday.
The strikes hit the Abqaiq processing facility, the largest crude processing plant in the world, and the Khurais oil field, which is said to produce more than 1 million barrels of crude oil a day, the Associated Press reports. The attacks caused major fires and a large plume of smoke.
The U.S. released satellite photos that it says shows that two Saudi energy facilities had been struck at least 19 times, the AP reports. Saudi oil facilities have been hit by similar strikes in recent weeks, but previous attacks didn’t cause as much damage.
Saudi Aramco said in a statement that no one was injured in the assault.
Who took responsibility for the attacks?
Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran, claimed responsibility for the attack. The Houthis are a Shi’ite Muslim minority who oppose Yemen’s Saudi-backed government. The United Nations has described the situation as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, and said in a 2019 report that the conflict is expected to be responsible for 233,000 deaths through this year.
Speaking on a Houthi satellite news channel, spokesman Yahia Sarie said that the rebels had launched 10 drones against the Saudi facility. He threatened to escalate the attacks if the Yemeni war goes on, the AP reports.
The Houthis have used drones since the start of the conflict, including models that are similar to Iranian drones. Iran has denied supplying the rebels with weapons.
An image grab taken from a video made available by al-Houthi Media Office shows Houthi military spokesman Brigadier-General Yahia Sarie speaking at a press conference on Sept. 14, 2019, during which Yemen’s Iran-aligned rebels claimed responsibility for the drone attacks on Saudi Aramco’s processing plants in Abqaiq and Khurais. -—AFP/Getty Images
Who does the U.S. think is responsible?
In a pair of tweets on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo blamed Iran for the attacks, writing that there is “no evidence” that the drones came from Yemen.
“We call on all nations to publicly and unequivocally condemn Iran’s attacks. The United States will work with our partners and allies to ensure that energy markets remain well supplied and Iran is held accountable for its aggression,” Pompeo wrote.
U.S. officials claimed that satellite images it released showed that the attacks appeared to come from Iran or Iraq, not Yemen, the AP reports.
President Trump tweeted on Sunday that the U.S. has “reason to believe” who attacked the facility, but it is waiting for Saudi Arabia to say who was responsible and share its response. Trump’s tweets came after a White House National Security Council meeting that included Pompeo as well as Vice President Mike Pence and Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
For more read the rest of the Time article and go to other sources.
https://time.com/5678242/saudi-arabia-oil-iran-drone-attacks/
I only point this incident out to show just how fragile both world peace and the world’s energy supply is if we continue to rely on oil for most of our transportation power. I’m praying and hoping that this is the last time I point to this potential Saudi/Iranian/U.S. conflict. I think the world will be a much better place once we kick our addiction to crude crud (my new nickname coined today Dear Diary).
Here is a bit of good news:
Here is more climate and weather news from Monday:
(As usual, this will be a fluid post in which more information gets added during the day as it crosses my radar, crediting all who have put it on-line. Items will be archived on this site for posterity. In most instances click on the pictures of each tweet to see each article.)
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Guy Walton- “The Climate Guy”