JPSS SDOC JPSS PGRR - Satellite-based Disaster Outreach Coordinator (SDOC)

The damage at the Saudi Aramco processing facility in Abqaiq (بقيق) and the Khurais oil field (حقل خريص‎) with the resulting fires continues to be seen in the satellite imagery. It is estimated the damage to take will take weeks to repair given the unprecedented in scale. The orientation of the passes was such that both NOAA-20 and S-NPP observed the region under a Waning Gibbous (98% illumination) on the night of 15 September 2019 (UTC, early morning on the 16th in Saudi Arabia). The passes were such that there were 3 views of the area. First from SNPP (2133Z), then from NOAA-20(2223Z), then again from SNPP (2313Z)

As with previous nights, the DNB imagery clearly smoke from the Abqaiq (بقيق) processing facility and the Khurais oil field (حقل خريص‎) as well as the increased flaring from the gas-oil separation plants at the Ghawar (الغوار) oil field. In addition, the shifting of the smoke with the winds in the area is clearly visible between the three separate scenes.

In addition with previous nights, faint signatures of smoke could be seen in the I04 band from both the NPP (not shown) and NOAA-20

While this incident continues to be investigated, production of oil at the Saudi Aramco processing facility in Abqaiq (بقيق) and the Khurais oil field (حقل خريص‎). Part of the impact has been the shutdown of a major pipeline between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.