One of the world’s largest oil refineries was hit by an Iranian drone in Saudi Arabia on Monday, prompting officials to shut it down as a huge ball of fire tore through.
Harrowing video captured the massive fire burning at the Saudi oil giant, Aramco, in Ras Tanura as thick smoke billowed into the sky following a wave of attacks on major regional oil infrastructure across the Middle East.
The Saudi Defense Ministry confirmed that two drones targeting the facility had been intercepted and destroyed. There were no injuries reported in the attack.
Aramco quickly shuttered the refinery as a precautionary measure, Saudi state media reported.
Despite the temporary closure, an unnamed Energy Ministry official insisted that supplies of petroleum and its derivatives to local markets had not been disrupted as a result of the attack.
The plant — one of the largest in the world — produces approximately 550,000 barrels per day and is vital to the kingdom’s energy sector.
Earlier in the day, reports emerged of falling debris at Kuwait’s Ahmadi oil refinery after drones were shot down there – injuring at least two workers, the state-run KUNA news agency reported.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s government said an energy facility belonging to QatarEnergy had also been attacked by two Iranian drones as authorities worked to assess the damage.
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“It’s a really worrying signal,” Jorge Leon, who is head of geopolitical analysis at energy firm Rystad Energy, told AFP.
“So far, we haven’t seen energy infrastructure being targeted.”
“The longer this disruption goes on for the higher oil and gas prices we will see in the coming days and weeks,” he added.
The retaliatory strikes by Iran have led to shutdowns at oil and gas facilities across the Middle East.
With Post wires