UAE foils Houthi attack on its territories in third Jan incident

The UAE has foiled a Houthi attack on its territories in the third incident in January, as geopolitical tensions ratchet up in the region contributing to an oil price rally above $90/b.

The UAE's ministry of defense said Jan. 31 its air forces intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis, without any casualties, as fragments from the missile fell outside populated regions.

The ministry reiterated its "full readiness to deal with any threats," and said that it will "take all necessary measures to protect the UAE from any attacks," according to a statement carried by state-run WAM news agency.

The Houthis claimed they targeted Abu Dhabi with several ballistic missiles, and Dubai with a number of armed drones, according to a statement posted on Twitter by the group's military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Sare'e.

The statement warned UAE citizens, residents, and companies to stay away from vital facilities because they could be targeted over the coming period.

Iranian-backed Houthis are involved in a Saudi Iranian proxy war in Yemen.

Steady oil supply

The UAE, OPEC's third biggest oil producer, said it may respond to Houthi "terrorist attacks" in Abu Dhabi Jan. 17 that led three petroleum trucks transporting fuel to go up in flames in a deadly escalation of the Yemen war.

Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East region and Ukraine have contributed to a spike in oil prices, with S&P Global Platts assessing Dated Brent at $92.86/b Jan. 28, up 1.73% on the day.

The Jan. 17 attack occurred at the site of storage tanks owned by Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., the UAE's biggest energy producer, which pumps most of the country's crude and gas, and is undertaking various projects to boost it oil production capacity to 5 million b/d by 2030, from 4 million b/d currently.

ADNOC said Jan. 18 it is taking action to ensure uninterrupted oil product supply after Yemen's Houthi militia attacked its fuel depot in Abu Dhabi.

The Jan. 17 strikes were carried out by five winged and ballistic missiles and several drones on the Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports, an oil refinery and other "important and sensitive Emirati sites and facilities," Sare'e said in a Jan. 17 statement.

The attacks were in retaliation to UAE's interference in the Yemeni civil war, he said.

The UAE pumped 2.87 million b/d of crude oil in December 2021, according to the latest S&P Global Platts survey of OPEC+ group's output.