An explosion went off Friday at a major oil processing facility in eastern Saudi Arabia, a Saudi oil official said. Suicide bombers in two cars attempted to attack the facility but were stopped by guards, though one exploded, damaging a pipeline, Al-Arabiya TV reported.
It was the first such attack on an oil facility in the kingdom, which has waged a fierce three-year crackdown on al-Qaeda terrorists.
There have been previous attacks on oil company offices, but not on a facility where oil is present.
The blast damaged a pipeline at Buqayq, a large complex that processes crude oil 70 kilometers (45 miles) southwest of the oil hub of Dammam on Saudi Arabia's Gulf coast, the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya said. Oil stopped flowing briefly but then resumed, it reported.
Security guards opened fire on the explosives-packed cars as they attempted to drive through the facility's gates, the Saudi-owned television network said. The two cars bore logos of Aramco, the state oil company that owns the facility.
One vehicle was stopped, and two people inside it were killed. The other vehicle exploded when the guards fired on it, the Al-Arabiya correspondent said. None of the guards were hurt, he said.
An oil official confirmed the explosion to The Associated Press but said he did not know the cause. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because information was still preliminary.
Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Mansour al-Turki told AP in Cairo: "I have no information. I am following this up."
The al-Qaeda terror group has long called for attacks on Saudi oil installations, accusing the country's government of selling oil to the West at cheap prices. The group is run by the Saudi-born Osama bin Laden who seeks to topple the Saudi monarchy and replace it with an Islamic state.
The Saudi authorities have said their oil facilities are well protected.
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