NEW DELHI/LONDON: Saudi Aramco shut down its 400,000 barrel-per-day Jizan oil refinery in Saudi Arabia on July 27 following an attack by Yemen’s Houthi militants on Saturday, a note from consultancy IIR seen by Reuters showed.
The shutdown comes amid tight global fuel supplies, with disruptions in the Middle East and Russia’s diesel export ban already constraining the market.
Refining profit margins have also surged, reaching record highs in some regions, underscoring the potential impact of the outage.
The attack damaged the plant’s Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle complex and the tank farm area, the note said, adding that Aramco will tentatively complete repairs and restart the plant by August 15.
Aramco did not reply to a Reuters request for comment.
Houthi spokesperson claims strike on Aramco sites
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said on Saturday the group successfully struck sites belonging to Saudi Aramco in Jizan and Yanbu, as the war in the Gulf that has disrupted global supplies extended to a second front.
Video shared on social media and verified by Reuters showed a large column of smoke rising from the Jizan refinery after the attack.
The refinery has exported more than 200,000 bpd on average over the past three months, Kpler data showed. Diesel and gasoil were the main export products, accounting for more than half of June’s exports of around 170,000 bpd, while naphtha represented about 30 percent.
European diesel profit margins rose to a record high of USD70.77 a barrel on Tuesday, supported by attacks on Middle East oil infrastructure, disruptions to regional export routes including the key Strait of Hormuz, and Russia’s ban on diesel exports.
Most of the refinery’s naphtha exports go to Asia via the Bab el-Mandeb strait, which has been emerging as an alternative supply route to the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for more than half of naphtha exports to Asian buyers.
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