Old video of Mexico gas plant explosion shared as attack on Saudi Arabian oil refinery

On September 14, two key oil installations in Saudi Arabia were struck by drones, with Houthi rebels in Yemen claiming responsibility for the attack. One of these installations is the Aramco oil refinery at Abiqaiq. Now, a video has gone viral, showing a massive explosion.

The 1:44 minute long video shows a huge explosion, which results in a thick cloud of smoke. The same explosion is then shown from another angle, followed by a raging inferno which engulfs the area. Several Facebook users have uploaded the video with the claim that this video shows the recent attack on the Aramco refinery in Saudi Arabia.

The video has also been shared on Twitter.

Aramco Refinery Blast pic.twitter.com/b0EZTT0fMY

— Kamlesh Mistry (@SumangalPrint) September 17, 2019

FACT CHECK

The claim that this video represents the recent drone attack on the Aramco refinery in Saudi Arabia, is false. Using a frame from the video clip, Alt News performed a reverse-image search on Google. The result threw up a YouTube video showing the same incident. The video was uploaded in August, 2014 and is titled, ‘2012 Gas plant explosion Mexico’.

On the basis of this information, Alt News searched Google and found several news reports from 2012, which had reported the incident. An explosion had rocked a natural gas plant of the Mexican state-owned petroleum company Pemex in September 2012, near the city of Reynosa in Northern Mexico, close to the U.S border. Over 25 people were killed in the explosion and the ensuing blaze. According to a BBC report, preliminary investigation had suggested that the cause of the explosion was build-up of gas.

A video of an explosion which took place at a natural gas facility in Mexico in 2012, has been falsely shared as the recent drone attack on the Aramco facility in Saudi Arabia.