Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia shut its biggest domestic oil refinery on Monday after a drone strike, a source said, as strikes and retaliation across the Middle East triggered precautionary shutdowns of oil and gas facilities.
Saudi Aramco refinery shut as precaution
State oil giant Saudi Aramco’s 2222.SE 550,000 barrels per day Ras Tanura refinery was shut as a precautionary measure. The refinery is part of an energy complex on the kingdom’s Gulf coast that also serves as a critical export terminal for Saudi crude oil.
Production halted in Iraqi Kurdistan
A wave of attacks stretched into a third day, resulting in the suspension of most oil production in Iraqi Kurdistan. The region exported 200,000 barrels per day via pipeline to Turkey’s Ceyhan port in February, and companies including DNO DNO.OL, Gulf Keystone Petroleum GKP.L, Dana Gas DANA.AD and HKN Energy stopped output at their fields as a precaution, with no damage reported.
Israeli gas fields shut and exports to Egypt constrained
Offshore Israel, the Israeli government instructed Chevron CVX.N to temporarily shut down the Leviathan gas field as it expands capacity to around 21 billion cubic metres a year as part of a $35 billion export deal to Egypt. A Chevron spokesperson said its facilities were safe, including the Tamar gas field offshore Israel, which it also operates.
Energean ENOG.L shut down its production vessel serving smaller gas fields. The shutdowns throttled exports to Egypt.
Shipping disruption and oil price surge
Oil prices surged 13% to above $82 a barrel, the highest since January 2025, as the conflict ground shipping to a near halt in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil supply flows.
Explosions reported in Iran and attack in Qatar
In Iran, explosions were heard on Saturday in Kharg Island, which processes 90% of Iran’s crude exports, though it was unclear how the facilities were impacted. Iran, the third largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, pumps about 4.5% of global oil supplies, with output of about 3.3 million barrels per day of crude plus 1.3 million barrels per day of condensate and other liquids.
Qatar’s government said an energy facility belonging to Qatar Energy was attacked by two Iranian drones on Monday, with authorities still assessing the damage.
How might continued precautionary shutdowns across the region affect energy prices and supply in the coming days?
