NEW YORK (Agencies): Saudi security forces have foiled an apparent suicide car bomb attack on a major oil production facility in the eastern town of Abqaiq. Guards opened fire on at least two cars carrying explosives as they tried to ram the gates, Saudi officials said. BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says the attack is the first direct assault on Saudi oil production. The al-Qaeda network on the Arabian Peninsula has long called for attacks on Saudi oil installations. Oil security analysts have estimated that a serious attack on the facility could halve Saudi exports for up to a year. Oil prices soared Friday, topping $62 a barrel, after attackers tried to blow up a Saudi oil refinery, making an already tense geopolitical situation even more so. US light crude for April delivery jumped $2.21, or roughly 3 percent, to trade at $62.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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