Abqaiq (Arabic: بقيق, romanized: Biqayq) is a Saudi Aramco gated community and oil-processing facility located in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, located in the desert 60 km southwest of the Dhahran-Dammam-Khobar metropolitan area, and north of the Rub' al-Khali, the second largest sand desert in the world also known as the "Empty Quarter".

[2] Abqaiq was the site of a terrorist attack attempt by al-Qaeda[3] on 24 February 2006, targeting the oil processing facility.

In a report about the incident, he concludes that "the attack against Abqaiq should not be seen as a turning point in either Saudi stability or the global energy market.

Rather, it is evidence that al-Qaeda and other extremists groups will stop at nothing to disturb the global economy and international peace.

It also signals that al-Qaeda is changing tactics to attack an area that will garner most attention and inflict most damage on the Saudi leadership, the U.S., and the international community.