Falling debris from an intercepted Iranian drone caused a “limited fire” at Saudi Arabia‘s Aramco oil refinery in Ras Tanura on Monday, the defence ministry said.
Turki al-Maliki, the ministry’s spokesperson, told Al Arabiya that two drones were intercepted near the facility and the debris from one triggered the localised fire.
Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said the fire was under control and had no impact on oil supplies. The refinery was shut down as a precaution, it added.
The Ras Tanura complex, located on the kingdom’s eastern coast, houses one of the Middle East’s largest refineries, with a capacity of 550,000 barrels per day, according to AFP. It also serves as one of the world’s biggest oil ports.
In Kuwait, smoke was rising above a power plant in the north of the country by three witnesses, according to AFP.
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The national oil company, Kuwait National Petroleum Company, reported that debris had fallen on the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, one of the country’s largest, injuring two workers but not disrupting operations.
Meanwhile, oil prices surged by nine percent amid fears that the Iran conflict could disrupt Middle Eastern supply flows, Reuters reported.