Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry announced on March 2 that it had partially suspended operations at the massive Ras Tanura refinery following an attack that caused a fire at the facility.
The Ras Tanura facility, located along the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf, is one of the largest refineries in the Middle East and a mainstay of the country’s energy sector, with a daily refining capacity of 550,000 barrels of oil.
“Some operational units of the refinery were shut down as a precautionary measure, without affecting the supply of petroleum products to the markets,” an official source at the Energy Ministry said in a statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency.
Earlier, AFP had reported, citing an “informed source,” that Ras Tanura had been attacked and was on fire. The blaze has reportedly been contained.
Workers evacuate the area around Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura oil refinery as smoke rises following a reported Iranian drone strike on March 2.
According to a spokesman for the Saudi Defense Ministry, the refinery was targeted by two drones, both of which were intercepted and destroyed.
Ras Tanura is also one of the largest oil ports in the world.
Oil analyst Thorbjorn Soltvedt says the incident marks a significant increase in tensions in the Persian Gulf after a wave of Iranian attacks and firings across the region.
“The attack on Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura refinery marks a significant escalation, with the energy infrastructure of the Persian Gulf countries now clearly within Iran’s firing range,” Soltvedt added in a note.
“The attack also likely brings Saudi Arabia and neighboring Gulf states closer to joining US and Israeli military operations against Iran,” he said.
Another source told AFP that an air base near the Saudi capital, Riyadh, was targeted by Iranian missiles but they were also intercepted.
This base is home to American forces, and this is the third time in the past three days that it has been attacked.
Saudi Arabia has strongly criticized Iran and warned that it reserves the right to defend itself, including through retaliatory action.
Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure has been targeted by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in the past.