Saudi Arabia has heightened its military readiness after an attack targeted critical energy infrastructure, prompting precautionary shutdowns at one of the kingdom’s most strategic oil facilities.
The kingdom’s Energy Ministry confirmed that parts of the massive Ras Tanura Refinery on the Gulf coast were temporarily halted following an attack that sparked a fire at the complex. The blaze has since been extinguished.
An official source, quoted by the Saudi Press Agency, said some operational units were shut down as a precautionary measure but stressed there had been no disruption to domestic petroleum supplies.
Located along Saudi Arabia’s eastern Gulf coast, the Ras Tanura facility is one of the largest refineries in the Middle East and a cornerstone of the kingdom’s energy sector, with a refining capacity of about 550,000 barrels per day. The complex also serves as one of the world’s most significant oil export terminals.
A defence ministry spokesman disclosed that two drones targeted the refinery but were successfully intercepted, according to a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency on X. Earlier, a source familiar with the incident told AFP that the attack triggered a fire within the facility before it was brought under control.
The incident comes amid intensifying regional tensions. Torbjørn Soltvedt, an analyst at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft, described the strike as a “significant escalation,” warning that Gulf energy infrastructure now appears directly in the crosshairs of Iran.
“The attack on Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura refinery marks a major uptick in hostilities,” Soltvedt said in a note, adding that it could push Saudi Arabia and neighboring Gulf states closer to aligning with US and Israeli military operations against Iran.
Near the capital, Riyadh, Iranian missiles targeting an air base housing US personnel were also intercepted, according to a Gulf source briefed on the developments. The base has reportedly been targeted three times in as many days.
Saudi authorities over the weekend strongly condemned Iran following strikes aimed at Riyadh and the kingdom’s eastern region, warning that it reserves the right to defend itself, including through retaliatory measures.
Saudi oil infrastructure has faced similar threats in recent years. In March 2022, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched a drone strike on the YASREF refinery in Yanbu Industrial City along the Red Sea.
In 2019, aerial assaults claimed by the Houthis on facilities operated by Saudi Aramco in eastern Saudi Arabia temporarily disrupted roughly half of the kingdom’s crude production.
The latest attack underscores the vulnerability of Gulf energy infrastructure and raises fresh concerns over the potential for broader regional confrontation.
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