Over the weekend, Saudi Aramco had to close two its compounds, the Abqaiq and Khurais facilities, after they were hit by drones and then caught fire. The incident led to a cut in oil production totaling 5.7 million barrels per day — about half of Saudi Arabia’s daily oil output. The closure of oil facilities triggered a surge of oil prices worldwide.

"The president of the republic strongly condemned the attacks on oil facilities ... He assured the crown prince and the people [of Saudi Arabia] in France's solidarity in the light of these attacks and confirmed France's involvement in Saudi security and stability in the region ... In response to a request from the Saudi authorities, the president of the republic confirmed to the crown prince that French experts would be sent to Saudi Arabia to participate in the investigation aiming to shed light on the origin and conditions of the September 14 attacks," the statement said.

While the perpetrators of the attack remain unknown and the investigation into the incident is underway, the responsibility was already claimed by the military wing of Yemen's Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis. Houthi rebels regularly conduct drone attacks on facilities in Saudi Arabia, which has been providing air support to Yemen’s internationally recognized government in its fight against Houthis since spring 2015.

The United States, in the meantime, has put the blame on Iran. Tehran has refuted the accusation.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry said that Riyadh would invite international experts and UN specialists to join the investigation into the recent attacks.