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Saudi Arabia's state oil giant Aramco shut its Ras Tanura refinery following an Iranian drone strike on Monday, an industry source told Reuters, as Tehran launched retaliatory strikes across the Gulf region in response to the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran.
The refinery was shut as a precautionary measure and the situation is under control, the source said.
Reported fire in Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, following an Iranian drone attack pic.twitter.com/HXdrfLm4Sb
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The Ras Tanura complex, situated on Saudi Arabia's eastern coast along the Persian Gulf, houses one of the Middle East's largest refineries with a capacity of 550,000 barrels per day and serves as a critical export terminal for Saudi crude.
The strike ignited a fire at the facility, according to media reports, with widely circulated social media footage showing the impact.
Workers at Aramco facilities in Saudi Arabia were evacuating following the reported Iranian strikes.
Brent crude futures surged roughly 10% on Monday following the drone strike and the wider wave of attacks across the Gulf.
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.
The drone strike on Ras Tanura added to a wave of Iranian attacks across the Gulf, including strikes on Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Manama and Oman's commercial port of Duqm.
The strikes have paralyzed major shipping hubs in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
So far, Iranian strikes have hit Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Iran retaliated by targeting Israel as well as designated sites in several regional countries hosting U.S. bases, notably Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
The United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran on Saturday, killing several top Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
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