Abu Dhabi's largest oil refinery halted operations after drone attack

The UAE has suspended operations at the Ruwais oil refinery complex, one of the world's largest, after a drone attack and a fire in the industrial zone, Bloomberg sources said. The incident came amid a series of strikes on the Middle East's energy infrastructure, which have already reduced oil production in the region by millions of barrels per day.

The United Arab Emirates halted the operation of an oil refinery in the city of Ruwais as a precautionary measure after a drone strike caused a fire in the industrial area, Bloomberg sources reported. The refinery in question, according to the agency, is the refinery of one of the world's largest energy companies Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). The Bloomberg sources did not specify whose drone caused the fire.

The authorities of Abu Dhabi Emirate said that the fire was extinguished. According to Bloomberg sources familiar with the situation, the shutdown of the oil refining complex is preventive in nature and is related to the assessment of possible damage to the infrastructure.

The refinery's refining capacity is about 922,000 barrels of oil per day, making it one of the largest refining complexes in the world. It is the only major refinery in the Abu Dhabi emirate, and much of the fuel it produces is exported, Bloomberg notes. A prolonged shutdown of the Ruwais refinery could force the UAE to cut oil production faster, Bloomberg concludes.

A drone attack on an ADNOC facility was another blow to the Middle East region's energy infrastructure. Last week, Saudi Arabia shut down its largest oil refinery and Qatar shut down the world's largest liquefied natural gas export terminal after drone strikes.

According to Bloomberg sources, combined oil production in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait has already fallen by about 6.7 million bpd.

Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company are trying to increase exports via alternative routes (e.g., from the Red Sea port of Yanbu) to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, a critical transportation hub that in peacetime carried about 25 percent of the world's oil shipments by sea and a significant amount of LNG. Following the escalation of conflict in the Middle East, Iran has threatened ships that cross this route with arson.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor