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The SAMREF refinery, operated as a three way partnership between Saudi Aramco and ExxonMobil, was hit in an aerial strike following related assaults on amenities in Qatar and the UAE.
Satellite tv for pc picture reveals the oil infrastructure at Saudi Arabia’s western Purple Sea port of Yanbu | Picture: AFP
A drone crashed close to a key oil refinery at Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu on the Purple Coastline, as Iran expanded its retaliatory marketing campaign in opposition to vitality infrastructure throughout the Gulf amid an intensifying conflict in West Asia.
In response to a report by Reuters, the SAMREF refinery, operated as a three way partnership between Saudi Aramco and ExxonMobil, was hit in an aerial strike following related assaults on amenities in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
An trade supply stated the impression on the refinery was restricted, although studies indicated a fireplace had damaged out on the web site.
The strike got here after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued evacuation warnings for a number of oil and gasoline installations throughout Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, together with the Yanbu facility.
Tehran’s actions are broadly seen as retaliation for US-Israeli strikes on Iran’s vitality belongings, together with the South Pars gasoline discipline.
The most recent assault has heightened issues over world vitality provides, as Yanbu has emerged as one of many two vital export routes for Gulf crude after Iran successfully shut the Strait of Hormuz following the outbreak of hostilities late final month.
The strait sometimes carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil shipments.
The second main export hub, the UAE’s port of Fujairah, has additionally come below repeated assaults in latest days, forcing a suspension of operations. It was not instantly clear whether or not crude loadings had resumed there.
The broader Gulf area, together with Iran and Iraq, accounts for practically a 3rd of world oil manufacturing and a big share of gasoline output.
With Hormuz successfully below Iranian management and a number of export terminals disrupted, analysts warn that provide constraints are deepening right into a wider vitality disaster.
Iran’s escalation adopted Israeli strikes on the offshore South Pars gasoline discipline, shared by Iran and Qatar, marking a pointy enlargement of the battle.
On Wednesday, QatarEnergy stated Iranian missile assaults on the Ras Laffan industrial complicated, house to the nation’s major LNG processing amenities, had precipitated intensive injury.
Saudi authorities additionally stated they intercepted and destroyed 4 ballistic missiles aimed toward Riyadh, whereas the UAE confirmed it had halted operations at its Habshan gasoline facility after intercepting a drone, underscoring the rising attain of the battle throughout the Gulf’s vitality heartland.
March 19, 2026, 14:17 IST
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