- Saudi Aramco halted operations at its Ras Tanura refinery after the facility was hit by a drone on Monday.
- The refinery was shut as a precautionary measure and the situation is under control.
- The strike forms part of a broader wave of attacks across the Gulf, including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Doha.
Saudi Aramco shut its Ras Tanura refinery after Iran's drone attacks, marking a sharp escalation on the third day of strikes launched by Tehran in response to the US-Israeli attack on Iran.
The state oil giant halted operations at the Saudi Aramco-owned Ras Tanura refinery after the facility was hit by a drone on Monday. The complex, located on Saudi Arabia's Gulf coast, is one of the Middle East's largest refineries with a capacity of 550,000 barrels per day (bpd) and serves as a critical export terminal for Saudi crude.
Ras Tanura handles a significant share of the kingdom's oil exports, with shipments typically heading to major markets in Europe and Asia, including China, Japan and South Korea.
The refinery was shut as a precautionary measure and the situation is under control, a source told Reuters. Two drones were intercepted at the facility, with debris causing a limited fire, according to the Saudi defence ministry's spokesperson speaking on Al Arabiya TV. There were no injuries. Aramco, on the other hand, is yet to issue a statement over the attack.
The shutdown is likely to heighten supply concerns as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz - through which roughly a fifth of global oil consumption flows - slowed to a near-halt after vessels were attacked in the area on Sunday. Brent crude futures surged about 10% on Monday.
"The attack on Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura refinery marks a significant escalation, with Gulf energy infrastructure now squarely in Iran's sights," said Torbjorn Soltvedt, Principal Middle East Analyst at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft.
The drone strike forms part of a broader wave of attacks across the region, including reported strikes on Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Manama and Oman's commercial port of Duqm. In Iraq, most oil production in the Kurdistan region - which exported around 200,000 bpd to Turkey in February - was shut over the weekend as a precaution, according to field operators.
Ras Tanura was previously targeted in 2021 by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement, in what Riyadh at the time described as a failed assault on global energy security.
Iran Conflict: Refinery Attack Spooks Already-Strained Oil Markets
The latest incident has intensified fears of a wider energy crisis as hostilities across West Asia deepen. The United States and Israel launched missile strikes on targets across Iran over the weekend, urging citizens to rise against the Islamic regime. Tehran responded with attacks aimed at Israel and US military bases, as well as targets in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain.
Crude prices climbed sharply on Monday as the expanding conflict disrupted global energy supply chains. The Strait of Hormuz was effectively choked after at least three oil tankers in the waterway were hit by drone attacks.
Higher global energy prices are expected to feed through to consumers, raising fuel costs and increasing prices for groceries and other goods at a time when many economies are already grappling with elevated inflation.
