Global oil markets shaken following Iran’s strike on Saudi’s critical energy infrastructure

2026-03-19 - 11:20

Reuters reported on Thursday, citing two industry sources, that the Saudi port of Yanbu has suspended all oil loading operations following an Iranian attack. A source within the oil sector informed the British news agency that the Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery (SAMREF)—a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and ExxonMobil located in the Red Sea port—was targeted by an aerial strike on Thursday. While the source noted that the immediate physical impact was “limited,” the strike follows a series of retaliatory attacks on energy infrastructure in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, launched by Tehran in response to US-Israeli strikes on Iranian energy facilities. The port of Yanbu currently serves as one of only two remaining export outlets for Gulf crude oil. This follows Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway shared with Oman that typically handles one-fifth of the world’s global oil supply. On Wednesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued urgent evacuation warnings for several oil facilities across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, specifically naming the SAMREF refinery as a legitimate target.