Foreign Affairs

Major Saudi Diesel Refinery Reportedly Hit As US Diesel Sits At Record

Prince Khaled al-Faisal al-Saud, the governor of Mecca, at the airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 15, 2022. (Screen Capture/CSPAN)

Oil loadings seemed to have stopped at Saudi Arabia’s main Red Sea port Tuesday as a major refinery there reportedly burned after an attack.

Shipping industry sources told Reuters on Tuesday that loadings at the Yanbu export terminal had been suspended, four days after a drone attack shut the East-West Pipeline that feeds it, the outlet reported. Earlier Tuesday, an attack struck the Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Company, known as YASREF, according to a post from the Hormuz Letter account on X. The post cited footage it said showed a fire at the site and NASA satellite heat detections inside the refinery.

No news outlet, Saudi authority or Houthi statement appeared to have confirmed a strike on the refinery as of publication.

Saudi Civil Defence warned Yanbu residents of a potential danger at 4:41 a.m. local time Tuesday and lifted the alert 27 minutes later, according to its posts on X. The agency issued similar alerts for Jeddah, Mecca and other cities — and Saudi authorities did not immediately say whether any projectiles landed, Reuters reported.

No group claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attacks, and the alert in Mecca was the first of the war, according to the outlet.

Saudi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said the Houthis targeted three cities and injured 13 people, without saying when the attacks occurred, The New York Times reported. The Houthis have not commented on those attacks, the outlet reported.

The national average diesel price rose to $6.27 a gallon Tuesday, the highest American Automobile Association (AAA) has ever recorded, according to the association’s website. Brent crude rose $2.81 to $108.49 a barrel by 11:06 a.m. ET and U.S. diesel futures climbed more than 5.9% toward a record close, Reuters reported.

YASREF, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec), processes 400,000 barrels per day of crude and produces 286,000 barrels per day of diesel, according to the company’s website.

YASREF and Saudi Aramco did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment. Aramco had not posted a statement on its website as of publication.

Saudi Arabia blamed a pro-Iranian group based in Iraq for Friday’s attack on the pipeline, which has carried crude from the Gulf to Yanbu as the kingdom’s main export route since Iran blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported.

Saudi Arabia had enough crude stored at Yanbu to maintain exports for five to seven days if the pipeline stayed shut, traders and Saudi oil buyers told Reuters on Sunday, and the kingdom has since told European customers that some late-September cargoes will be cancelled, anonymous sources told the outlet. The pipeline is expected to remain largely out of service for three to five weeks, The Associated Press reported Monday.

Four commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, down from 10 the day before and a prewar average of 125, and transits through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait fell to 21 from 28, Reuters reported, citing Kpler data.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper in Jeddah on Monday, Reuters reported. The crown prince phoned President Donald Trump on Thursday seeking military support — which has so far been limited to intelligence, the outlet reported.