/Reuters Agency
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), a state oil company, has suspended crude loading operations at the Port of Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to a source familiar with the situation who reported to Reuters, after a drone attack caused fires at the key export terminal.
However, some other loading operations at the center have resumed, two additional sources indicated, one of whom stated that two of the three single-buoy mooring points at the port facility are operating.
In line with what was reported by Reuters informants, Adnoc’s crude terminals were the target of the attack.
Fujairah, located in the Gulf of Oman just outside the Strait of Hormuz, is typically a key departure point for around 1 million barrels per day of UAE Murban crude, a volume roughly equivalent to 1% of global demand.
Three separate fires were still active in the Fujairah oil industrial zone during the afternoon in the emirate, two sources said, including a witness.
Civil defense teams were working to control the fire, Fujairah’s government media office said in a statement, adding that no casualties were reported. It did not comment on oil loading operations.
The suspension marks the second major disruption at the vital supply hub in recent days. Operations in Fujairah had resumed on Sunday, March 15, following a separate shutdown caused by a drone attack over the weekend.
The attacks come as the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran strangles maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage between Iran and Oman that normally handles a fifth of the world’s oil supply.
The UAE’s daily crude production has fallen by more than half, as the conflict with Iran and the effective closure of the strait forced Adnoc to implement widespread production suspensions.
