# How Vulnerable to Missile Attack Are Saudi Oil Fields?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-vulnerable-to-missile-attack-are-saudi-oil-fields/85712>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 6, 2001, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-vulnerable-to-missile-attack-are-saudi-oil-fields/85712 "2001-10-06T00:39:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![tsunamisurfer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@tsunamisurfer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tsunamisurfer)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-vulnerable-to-missile-attack-are-saudi-oil-fields/85712/1 "2001-10-06T00:39:16Z")

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Are numerous production centers spread across vast areas or are they more geographically concentrated?

How vulnerable are they to intermediate-range missile attack? Are Patriot missile batteries currently in place to protect them?

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**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-vulnerable-to-missile-attack-are-saudi-oil-fields/85712/2 "2001-10-06T00:47:27Z")

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I have no idea about defenses, but who would be shooting missiles at Saudi Arabia? It would have to be a nation like Iran or Iraq and if they did, there would be a whole lot of explaining to do by them I would think.

I don’t think anyone is handing a terrorist a ballistic missile.

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**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-vulnerable-to-missile-attack-are-saudi-oil-fields/85712/3 "2001-10-06T01:05:38Z")

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My SWAG: Not very. Sure, you could do some damage, but remember Saddam? He had months for his men to place individual demolition charges, well-by-well, facility-by-facility, and even then, despite all the “expert” predictions of a recovery lasting years, in less than one year, all the fires were out, and production resumed very shortly thereafter. Short of nuking the Saudi fields, I doubt a missile attack could do half as much damage, even with more missiles than are available in all the inventory of all the nations in the Mid-East.