Saudi Arabia Closes Ras Tanura Refinery Following Drone Attack Amid Rising Middle East Tensions
Saudi Arabia has closed the Ras Tanura refinery following a drone strike, with regional attacks causing disruptions in oil and gas production across the Middle East.
On Monday, Saudi Arabia closed its largest domestic oil refinery following a drone strike, according to a source, as a series of attacks throughout the Middle East led to the shutdown of oil and gas facilities in Israel, Iran, and Iraq.
Saudi Aramco, the state oil giant, has shut down its Ras Tanura refinery, which has a capacity of 550,000 barrels per day, located on the Gulf coast of the kingdom, as a precautionary measure. The facility additionally functions as an essential terminal for crude exports.
“Two drones were intercepted at the facility, resulting in debris that caused a limited fire,” the Saudi defence ministry spokesperson informed Al Arabiya TV, noting that there were no injuries reported.
The Saudi state news agency SPA reported that certain refinery units were temporarily shut down as a precautionary measure; however, the local supply of petroleum and its derivatives remained unaffected. The source has confirmed that the situation at Ras Tanura is currently under control.
The assaults have interrupted production throughout the area. In Iraqi Kurdistan, where 200,000 bpd was exported via pipeline to Turkey’s Ceyhan port in February, companies such as DNO, Gulf Keystone Petroleum, Dana Gas, and HKN Energy paused production as a precaution, with no damage reported.
Offshore Israel, the government has directed Chevron to temporarily halt operations at the massive Leviathan gas field, which is part of a $35 billion export agreement with Egypt, while Energean has ceased production from its smaller gas fields. On Saturday, reports emerged of explosions on Kharg Island in Iran, a site responsible for processing 90% of the nation’s crude exports, although the extent of the impact is still uncertain.
Global markets responded dramatically, as Brent crude futures jumped approximately 10% to exceed $82 a barrel.
Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal Middle East analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, stated: “The attack on Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura refinery represents a notable escalation, with Gulf energy infrastructure now firmly in Iran’s focus.” The assault is expected to bring Saudi Arabia and neighboring Gulf nations nearer to participating in US and Israeli military actions against Iran.
Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure has experienced attacks in the past, particularly in September 2019 when drone and missile strikes on the Abqaiq and Khurais plants temporarily disrupted over half of the kingdom’s crude production. In 2021, Ras Tanura was also a target of Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis.
