MOSCOW, October 25. /TASS/. Saudi Aramco managed to independently cope with the consequences of drone attacks on its facilities in Saudi Arabia, but the risks in the region remain and should be taken into account, Mikhail Leontyev, spokesman of Russian state-run oil company Rosneft, told TASS.

"In connection with false interpretations in media that occurred after a report by Igor Sechin, Rosneft chief executive officer, at a forum in Verona in which he touched on the situation in the Middle East region after terrorist attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, we have to clarify our position," Leontyev said.

"Due to the current political situation in the region, Saudi Aramco, which is the most important oil supplier to the world market, has found itself in a zone of serious risks. These risks must be taken into account, it is extremely important for the stability of the world oil market," Leontyev told TASS.

"Rosneft has a long-standing partnership with Saudi Aramco. We maintain constructive relations with them. After the incident, we offered any possible assistance to the Saudi company. It is with great respect that we note that Saudi Aramco managed the incident on its own and as soon as possible. Nevertheless, the risks in the region remain and the market must not and cannot ignore them. We are sure that the leadership of Saudi Aramco takes these risks into account and does everything possible to prevent them," Leontyev said.

Earlier, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said that Saudi Arabia after the incident with drones was able to restore production in about a week, but this cost the country almost $2 billion.

He also noted that, unlike the United States, Saudi Arabia and Russia are gradually losing the role of a regulator in the oil market.

Drone attacks

The facilities of the national oil company Saudi Aramco in the east of Saudi Arabia were attacked by ten drones in the small hours on September 14. Yemeni Houthi rebels from the Ansar Allah movement claimed responsibility for the incident. Particularly, the world’s biggest oil refinery near the city of Abqaiq and a refinery near Khurais, where Saudi’s second largest oil field is located, came under the attack. As a result of the attack, the kingdom reduced crude production by 5.7 mln barrels per day out of 9.8 mln barrels.