Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company of Saudi Arabia, has shut down its Ras Tanura oil refinery following a fire sparked by debris from an intercepted Iranian drone near the facility.
According to a report by the Saudi Press Agency, the fire was caused by debris from the interception of two drones in the vicinity of the refinery.
The publication stated that the Ras Tanura refinery, one of the largest in the world, suffered only minor damage, citing a source from the ministry of energy.
“The incident resulted in a limited fire, which was immediately contained by emergency response teams,” the report said.
“No injuries or fatalities were reported. Some operational units at the refinery were shut down as a precautionary measure, without any impact on the supply of petroleum products to local markets.”
The Ras Tanura complex, located 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).
This development underscores escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and could affect global oil prices, which are already trending upward.
On Saturday, joint US-Israeli strikes on Iranian targets reportedly killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Abdolrahim Mousavi, Iran’s supreme leader and armed forces chief of staff, respectively.
Khamenei’s daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law, and son-in-law were also reportedly killed in the military operation.
In response, Iran launched waves of missiles across the Middle East, including toward Saudi Arabia.
