World Affairs
Aramco tells remaining Dhahran headquarters staff to leave after alarm
The reported order followed a week of attacks on Saudi infrastructure, but the cause of the alarm and any effect on Aramco operations remain unclear.
Executive summary
- Remaining headquarters staff were told to work remotely: Reuters, Bloomberg and AFP reported that Aramco directed staff still at its Dhahran headquarters to leave and work from home. Bloomberg said the move followed an alarm; the reason was not immediately known.[1][2][3]
- The order did not cover Dhahran's residential areas: AFP reported that nonessential headquarters staff had already been working remotely since an earlier strike and that residential areas in the broader compound were not closed or evacuated. Aramco and Saudi authorities had not publicly explained the new alarm.[3][2][1]
- The evacuation came amid new attacks and energy-market concern: A separate attack on Dammam's King Fahd International Airport killed two people and wounded eight, Saudi aviation authorities said. Reuters reported that oil prices reached a five-month high as traders weighed the conflict's potential effect on supply.[4][5][1][6]
Saudi Aramco told employees still at its headquarters in Dhahran to leave and work remotely, Reuters, Bloomberg and AFP reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the order. Bloomberg said an alarm at the headquarters preceded the move. The reports did not identify what triggered it, and Aramco had not immediately responded to requests for comment.[1][2][3]
The reports describe an evacuation of the headquarters workplace, not a citywide or compound-wide order. AFP said nonessential staff had already been working remotely since the headquarters complex was struck the previous week, and that residential areas in the sprawling compound were not closed or evacuated. The duration of the new work-from-home instruction was not known.[3][2]
The new order is distinct from the earlier attack on an Aramco building. Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry then reported a limited fire in an administrative building in the compound; the ministry did not identify who carried out the attack. The Houthis later claimed a strike, while AP and other outlets reported damage based on officials and sources. The latest evacuation reports do not say the headquarters was hit again.[7][1][3]
The staff instruction came after an attack at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam killed two people and injured eight, according to Saudi aviation authorities cited by AP and Reuters. The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted drones launched toward the kingdom, including over Riyadh and Medina. Those reports establish a tense security backdrop, but they do not establish that a specific attack caused the alarm at Aramco's headquarters.[4][5][1][6]
The U.S. State Department also ordered non-emergency staff and family members to leave its mission in Saudi Arabia. Its warning, quoted by AP, said the hostilities could escalate rapidly beyond the immediate area. That order applied to U.S. government personnel; it was separate from Aramco's workplace instruction and did not amount to a general evacuation of Saudi residents.[5]
Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia's benchmark index fell 2.5% on Thursday after the Aramco evacuation news, while Brent crude rose to its highest level since May as investors assessed risks to supply. The move reflects market concern during a fast-changing conflict; it does not by itself show that Aramco output, shipments or facilities were disrupted by the headquarters order.[1]
Key details remain unconfirmed publicly: neither Aramco nor the Saudi Energy Ministry had explained the alarm, and no source reported that the work-from-home order would halt operations. The best-supported account is narrower: multiple news organizations, citing people familiar with the instruction, said remaining headquarters staff were sent home as attacks across the kingdom continued.[1][2][3]