Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura struck again by unknown projectile

Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura, which houses its largest domestic refinery and a key crude export terminal, was struck again on Wednesday by an unknown projectile, Reuters reports quoting its sources.

Initial indications show an attack on the Ras Tanura refinery was carried out by a drone and resulted in no damage, Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry spokesman said, according to the state news agency.

The agency also cited an energy ministry source as saying that there was no disruption to supplies.

Saudi Arabia and other regional Gulf oil producers, such as the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq, have been unable to move oil through the Strait of Hormuz since the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Friday.

Hundreds of ships have anchored on either side of the Strait as a precaution, and Iran has said it would fire on any vessel that attempted to ⁠transit the shipping choke point.

The Ras Tanura facility along the kingdom’s eastern Gulf coast is home to one of the largest refineries in the entire Middle East and a cornerstone of the kingdom’s energy sector.

The complex has a capacity of 550,000 barrels per day.

Aramco is attempting to reroute some of its crude exports to the Red Sea to avoid the Strait, sources have said. Aramco did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Saudi Arabia’s heavily fortified energy facilities have been targeted previously, most notably in September 2019 when unprecedented drone and missile attacks on the Abqaiq and Khurais plants temporarily knocked out more than half of the kingdom’s crude production and roiled global markets.

Ras Tanura was attacked by Yemen’s Houthis in 2021, in what Riyadh called a failed assault on global energy security.

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