A helicopter belonging to Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant, Aramco, crashed on Sunday in Ras Tanura, killing all 14 Saudi citizens on board.
The Saudi Press Agency, quoting an official from the Energy Ministry, confirmed that the aircraft went down in the eastern city of Ras Tanura. Authorities said all passengers died in the crash, while an investigation has been launched to determine the cause.
Aramco operates one of the largest corporate aviation fleets in the region, with more than 60 aircraft, including helicopters serving over 300 heliports across Saudi Arabia.
The fatal incident comes at a time when oil-rich Gulf nations are working to increase production following recent Iranian attacks and disruptions linked to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil and gas export route.
Although Saudi authorities stressed there was no indication that the crash resulted from a hostile attack, the incident has drawn attention because of the strategic importance of Ras Tanura, home to one of the Middle East’s largest oil refineries with a production capacity of 550,000 barrels per day.
The refinery has previously come under attack, including an Iranian drone strike earlier in the regional conflict that triggered a fire and forced a partial shutdown. In April, Saudi Arabia also disclosed that sustained attacks had disrupted operations at major energy facilities in Ras Tanura, Jubail, Yanbu and Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia remains the world’s largest crude oil exporter, producing just over 10 million barrels of oil per day.
