Reuters was first to report on Sept. 17 that Saudi Arabia is close to restoring 70% of the 5.7 million barrels per day lost due to attacks on oil facilities owned by the kingdom’s state oil company, Saudi Aramco, and that Aramco’s output would be fully back online in the next two to three weeks. Oil prices plunged more than 6% on the news.
Reuters was first to report the attacks on Sept. 14, and ahead on key news breaks on the impact: the shut down of over half of the kingdom’s production – some 5% of global supply. The strike on the heartland of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, including damage to the world’s biggest petroleum-processing facility, sent oil prices surging almost 20 percent when markets re-opened, while also inflaming tensions in the Middle East. Reuters was also ahead of the competition in reporting a fire at Aramco’s facilities and with the critical alert showing its impact on 5 million barrels a day of oil production.
