Aramco evacuates Dhahran headquarters after Houthi attacks

Oil company Aramco, the world's largest oil company, on Thursday, 22 October 2026, ordered employees at its headquarters in the city of Dhahran in eastern Saudi Arabia to leave the building and work from home until further notice. It is the first evacuation order for Aramco's headquarters since the start of the war with the Islamic Republic, and it came one day after the deadly Houthi attack on King Fahd Airport in Dammam.

Six informed sources told Reuters that the exact reason for the order was unclear, and Aramco did not respond to a request for comment. According to three other sources speaking to AFP, most employees had been working remotely since last week's attack on the building, with only essential staff remaining on site; the new order also covers these staff. The sources described the decision as a precautionary measure, and it is not yet known how long it will last.

Houthi attacks on Saudi oil facilities

The Houthis, the Islamic Republic's allies in Yemen, targeted Aramco's headquarters in Dhahran with a ballistic missile earlier this month; according to company sources, several upper floors of one of the office towers were damaged and caught fire. Before that, the Houthis had called on civilians to leave this building, King Khalid Airport in Riyadh and an Aramco-affiliated refinery.

On Wednesday evening, 21 October, a missile or drone attack on King Fahd Airport in Dammam, near Dhahran, also left two people dead, a Saudi citizen and an Indian national, and eight wounded. It was the second attack on the airport in less than two weeks. The Houthis claimed responsibility and also claimed to have attacked the Saudi Ministry of Defence in Riyadh and Aramco facilities in Yanbu; Saudi officials have not confirmed these two claims. The Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted several drones over Riyadh and Medina, as well as several ballistic missiles.

Market reaction and order for US diplomats to leave

The main index of the Saudi stock exchange fell 2.5 percent after the news was released, and Brent crude rose nearly 3 percent to around $112, its highest level since May. Earlier, the US State Department had ordered non-essential staff to leave Saudi Arabia.

The escalation of Houthi attacks in recent weeks has effectively ended the UN-brokered 2022 truce and opened a new front in the regional war: a front on which the Islamic Republic's proxy forces have targeted the energy infrastructure of Iran's neighbours.

For the first time since the war began, Aramco has evacuated its Dhahran headquarters under the threat of Houthi attacks.