Oil loading operations at the port of Fujairah in the UAE have been suspended after a drone strike sparked a fire in the emirate's petroleum industrial zone early today, according to local authorities and people familiar with port operations.
The Fujairah government media office said a fire broke out in the Fujairah oil and petrochemicals area after the site was targeted by a drone. Civil defence teams were dispatched to contain the blaze and no casualties were reported.
Oil loading activities at the port were halted as a precaution while damage assessments are under way, according to people familiar with port operations.
Fujairah, located on the Gulf of Oman outside the Strait of Hormuz, is a critical hub for the UAE's crude exports, refined product storage and bunkering operations. The port handles shipments of Murban crude exported through the UAE's Habshan–Fujairah pipeline system (Adcop), with a 1.5mn b/d capacity, and serves as one of the world's largest storage and fuel supply hubs for ships operating in the Mideast Gulf. The UAE had been "sweating its assets" since the strait's closure, sources had informed Argus, and the pipeline was estimated to be carrying 1.7mn–1.8mn b/d before today's hit.
The latest incident marks the second disruption at Fujairah in recent days. At least two crude storage tanks were damaged in drone strikes on 14 March and later caught fire, sources familiar with port operations told Argus earlier. A separate strike was reported near the Vopak terminal area, although the exact location was not confirmed.
Fujairah Oil Tanker Terminal, where most crude loading operations take place, also sustained damage earlier this month from falling debris following what authorities described as a successful air defence interception.
Most storage terminals and berths at the port resumed operations following the earlier incident, although some infrastructure had yet to fully recover.
The attacks come as the war between the US-Israel coalition and Iran has effectively halted most tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, forcing Gulf producers to curtail exports and adjust production.
Energy infrastructure across the UAE has come under increasing pressure in recent days. A drone strike today also triggered a fire at a fuel storage facility near Dubai International Airport, briefly disrupting flight operations at one of the world's busiest aviation hubs before the blaze was contained.
International oil companies have already begun reporting operational disruptions linked to the conflict. France's TotalEnergies said last week that production had been shut down or was in the process of shutting down in Qatar, Iraq and offshore UAE operations, representing around 15pc of the company's global output. The firm said onshore UAE production of roughly 210,000 b/d linked to its interests remained unaffected, while the impact of LNG disruptions in Qatar on its trading operations was limited.
Fujairah has become increasingly important to global oil markets because it allows UAE crude to be exported without passing through the Strait of Hormuz, equivalent to over 1.5pc of global oil demand. The hub has extensive storage capacity for crude and refined products and supplies bunker fuel to vessels transiting the region.
