Saudi Aramco shuts Ras Tanura refinery after drone strike, source says

The Ras Tanura complex serves as a critical export terminal for Saudi crude

FILE PHOTO: Aramco's oil field in the Empty Quarter, Shaybah, Saudi Arabia, Jan 12, 2024. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo

Saudi Arabia's state oil giant Aramco shut its Ras Tanura refinery following a drone strike, an industry source said on Monday, after Tehran launched strikes across the region in response to the US-Israeli attack on Iran.

The Ras Tanura complex, on the kingdom's Gulf coast, houses 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.

It was shut as a precautionary measure and the situation is under control, the source said.

Aramco did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

The drone strike added to a wave of attacks on the Gulf, including on Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Manama and Oman's commercial part of Duqm.

The strikes have paralysed major shipping hubs in the United Arab Emirates and Oman and sent Brent crude futures LCOc1 surging roughly 10 percent on Monday.

Saudi Arabia's heavily fortified energy facilities have been targeted previously, most notably in September 2019 when unprecedented drone and missile attacks on the Abqaiq and Khurais plants temporarily knocked out more than half of the kingdom's crude production and roiled global markets.