An oil refinery owned by the major energy and chemicals company Aramco has stopped operations at its Ras Tanura refinery in Saudi Arabia. This follows a drone, believed to have been launched by Iran, hitting the facility.
According to Bloomberg, the refinery is one of the largest in the kingdom and has the capacity to refine 5,50,000 barrels of oil per day. The attack resulted in a fire, which has now been brought under control. No one was injured during the attack.
The refinery, which is located along the Persian Gulf, was shut down on Monday for officials to assess the damage, said people in the know of the matter.
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Dense black smoke seen
There have been several videos shared online showing workers at the oil refinery walking away as dense black smoke billowed from the targeted area. Aramco's media office has not yet commented and the Saudi government is yet to issue an official statement.
Ras Tanura is a major crude oil refinery complex that is owned and operated by Saudi Aramco, which is the Saudi Arabian oil company. The oil refinery has traditionally been a cornerstone for Saudi Arabian energy needs, supporting both local fuel needs and export earnings.
Oil prices surge
On Monday, oil prices increased, the largest one-day increase in four years, which shook up the world oil market. By Monday, around 1.30 pm IST, Brent crude oil prices stood at $79 a barrel, reported Money Control.
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This oil price hike came on the back of a weekend filled with intense military action in the West Asian region. On Saturday, the US and Israel conducted missile strikes on Iran, accompanied by calls for the local populace to rise up against the Islamic regime. In retaliation, Iran struck back at Israel, the US, and Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain.
On Monday, the third day of the conflict in the Middle East, the US and Israel continued attacking Iran following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
