26/03/18
Attacks on UAE energy assets increase as war broadens
Dubai, 18 March (Argus) — Iran and its regional proxies have stepped up attacks
on Mideast Gulf energy infrastructure. The latest attacks in the UAE came after
Tehran vowed retaliation against the country for hosting US attacks on Iran's
Kharg island. Repeated drone strikes on Fujairah port have exposed the
vulnerability of the UAE's main oil storage and bunkering hub. An attack on
Tuesday, 17 March started a fire and disrupted terminal operations, according to
authorities. No injuries were reported, while market sources said at least two
terminals were affected, forcing some berths to close and vessels to move to
anchorage. The latest strike came only a day after a fire in the Fujairah
industrial zone halted oil loadings, and followed a drone attacks on 14 March
that damaged at least two crude storage tanks. On Monday 16 March, operations at
Abu Dhabi's Shah gas field were suspended after a drone attack caused a fire at
the site. This appeared to be the first direct hit on an upstream asset in the
UAE. The field, jointly operated by state-owned Adnoc and US firm Occidental
Petroleum, is located 210 km southwest of Abu Dhabi near the Saudi border, in an
increasingly exposed energy corridor. Saudi Aramco's 1mn b/d Shaybah oil field
was also targeted by drones for three consecutive days since March 7 . Shah is
one of the world's largest sour gas developments and Adnoc said in May it was
exploring raising its capacity to 1.85bn ft³/d from 1.45bn ft³/d. The site also
accounts for around 5pc of global sulphur production. The attacks on Shah and
Fujairah's terminals underline how the conflict is spilling across the UAE's
energy sector, from storage and export infrastructure to upstream production
assets, as the US Iran moves into its third week. The escalation comes after US
strikes on more than 90 military targets on Iran's Kharg Island on 13 March,
after which Tehran said the weapons had been fired from the UAE, including from
a location very close to Dubai .Trump later threatened to target energy
infrastructure on the island to force Tehran to reopen the strait of Hormuz,
though the initial strikes avoided oil facilities at Iran's main crude export
hub. Published official figures suggest the UAE has come under more attacks than
several of its Gulf peers since the war began on 28 February. The UAE said its
air defences have encountered at least 304 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise
missiles and 1,627 drones. That compares with 178 ballistic missiles and 384
drones intercepted by Kuwait, and 106 ballistic missiles and 176 drones by
Bahrain. In neighbouring Iraq, the Majnoon oil field in the Basrah province was
also targeted in recent days, according to state news agency Ina. The field is
one of Iraq's giant oilfields, and officials have previously said output is
around 240,000 b/d with plans to raise capacity to 450,000 b/d. The bulk of
recent attacks has focused on refining and storage infrastructure. A fire broke
out at an unidentified facility in Adnoc's 817,000 b/d Ruwais refining complex
on March 10, while Saudi Aramco's 550,000 b/d Ras Tanura refinery on the
country's east coast was targeted twice that week, on March 2 and March 4.
Bahrain's 405,000 b/d Sitra refinery and Kuwait's 346,000 b/d Mina al-Ahmadi
refinery have also come under attack. The conflict has not been one-sided, with
Israel also hitting Iranian oil facilities, including storage depots in and
around Tehran, according to state media . By Rithika Krishna Send comments and
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