Bahrain’s key oil refinery BAPCO in flames after ‘Iranian ballistic missile attack’

A major oil refinery in Bahrain was attacked with an Iranian ballistic missile as the conflict in the Middle East intensifies.

Large orange bursts of fire could be seen burning in the sky in a harrowing video shared on social media. In the wake of the joint U.S.-Israel attack in Iran over the weekend, Tehran has been targeting key locations in the Middle East.

On Wednesday, Tehran vowed to completely destroy the economic infrastructure of the Middle East. “The continued mischief and deception by the United States in the region will come at the cost of the complete destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure,” said Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

Without evidence, the guard alleged that the U.S. military was using “civilian facilities… as cover.”

Sirens were heard in Bahrain before the attack, warning of the incoming missile from Iran. Video shared on social media showed the impact of the blast on the oil refinery.

The BAPCO facility is Bahrain’s main refinery in Sitra, and a key energy facility in the Gulf.

It produces roughly 380,000 to 400,000 barrels of oil per day.

Oil prices on the rise

It’s unclear when the conflict in Iran will end, but in the meantime, oil and gas prices continue to soar in the U.S. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted amid the war. Shipments along the route account for about one-fifth of the oil consumed globally and about 20% of the world’s liquefied natural gas.

The IRGC declared on Monday that the strait was “closed” and any vessel that tried to pass through would be set “ablaze.” The U.S.-flagged product tanker, Stena Imperative, was damaged by “aerial impacts” while in the Middle East Gulf. A shipyard worker was killed in the impact.

Meanwhile, attacks on energy infrastructure in Gulf countries have also affected operations. Qatar’s state-run energy firm, QatarEnergy, announced that it had halted LNG production following Iranian attacks on its operational facilities in Ras Laffan and Mesaieed.

Saudi Arabia ended operations at its Ras Tanura plant, its largest domestic oil refinery, which was operated by Saudi Aramco. A fire broke out at the facility, which officials said was caused by debris from the interception of two Iranian drones.

“The attack on Aramco was an Israeli false flag operation,” an unnamed Iranian source told the Tasnim news agency. The source added that Israel’s goal was “to distract the minds of regional countries from its crimes in attacking civilian sites in Iran.”

“Iran has announced frankly that it will target all American and Israeli interests, installations and facilities in the region, and has attacked many of them so far, but Aramco facilities have not been among the targets of Iranian attacks so far,” the source said.

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