Repair Works Cause Brief Fire On Saudi Oil Product Pipeline

A fire which broke out on Wednesday at an oil product pipeline north of the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, during repairs was extinguished, state news agency SPA and security and industry sources said.

The pipeline was carrying diesel, not crude oil, an industry source in the country said.

One security source said that the accident, which took place near Sudair area some 250 km (156 miles) north of Riyadh, was “not the work of terrorists”.

Speaking by telephone from Riyadh, the source said a contractor was trying to fix the pipeline and “it broke”.

Brent oil prices rose by more than a dollar as rumours first circulated on social media, then settled back to their previous level.

Similar details were reported later by the Saudi state news agency SPA which said authorities had put out the fire and were working to deal with the flow of products at the scene.

“The accident did not result in any injuries or death,” SPA cited Major Mohammed Al Hammadi, spokesman of the Civil Defence team in Riyadh as saying.

A U.S. security source said that the U.S. government assessment was that the fire was caused by faulty repair work.