- Ras Tanura refinery hit by drone, source says.
- Major Israeli gas fields, including Leviathan, are out of commission.
- Most production in Iraqi Kurdistan was shut down as a precaution.
Saudi Arabia shut its largest domestic oil refinery on Monday after a drone attack, a source said, as Israeli and US strikes and Iranian retaliation forced the closure of oil and gas facilities across the Middle East.
A wave of attacks in the region continued into the third day, resulting in the pre-emptive suspension of most oil production in Iraqi Kurdistan and several major Israeli gas fields, strangling exports to Egypt.
State oil giant Saudi Aramco’s 550,000 barrel per day (bpd) Ras Tanura refinery, which was closed as a precaution, is part of an energy complex on the kingdom’s Gulf coast that also serves as a critical export terminal for Saudi crude oil.
In Iraqi Kurdistan, which exported 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil via a pipeline to Turkiye’s Ceyhan port in February, companies including DNO, Gulf Keystone Petroleum, Dana Gas and HKN Energy have stopped production at their fields as a precaution, with no damage reported.
Off the coast of Israel, the giant Leviathan gas field operated by Chevron was shut down on Saturday, according to sources, while Energean shut its production vessel supplying smaller gas fields.
Drones intercepted in Saudi Arabia
The situation at Aramco’s Ras Tanura refinery is under control, the source said. Two drones were intercepted at the facility and debris caused a limited fire, the Saudi Defense Ministry spokesperson said on Al Arabiya TV, adding that there were no injuries.
Aramco did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Some of the refinery units were closed as a precaution, but the supply of oil and its derivatives to local markets was not affected, Saudi state news agency SPA said, citing an unnamed Energy Ministry official.
Still, its closure is likely to raise supply concerns as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil consumption flows, comes to a near halt after ships were attacked around it on Sunday. Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 rose about 10% on Monday to above $82 a barrel.
The attack is considered a significant escalation
“The attack on the Ras Tanura refinery in Saudi Arabia marks a significant escalation, with the Gulf’s energy infrastructure now squarely in Iran’s crosshairs,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, senior Middle East analyst at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft.
“The attack is also likely to bring Saudi Arabia and neighboring Gulf states closer to joining US and Israeli military operations against Iran.”
Saudi Arabia’s heavily fortified energy facilities have been attacked before, most notably in September 2019, when drone and missile attacks on the Abqaiq and Khurais plants temporarily knocked out more than half of the kingdom’s crude oil production.
Ras Tanura was attacked by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis in 2021.
