Houthi Drone Strike Leaves Saudi Refinery Offline Amid Regional Tensions

A recent Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia's Jizan refinery complex has left the facility offline until mid-August. The strike damaged a tank farm and the Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) powerplant, which consumes heavy residual products to generate electricity, steam, and hydrogen gas.

The 400,000 bpd Jizan plant is one of the largest fuel producers in the region, and its shutdown will add to global restrictions on diesel availability. Saudi Aramco has confirmed that repairs are ongoing.

In addition to the damage at Jizan, the Abqaiq oil processing complex also sustained significant hits from Houthi drone strikes. The processing spheroids at Abqaiq were severely damaged, and some may be permanently disabled.

The Abqaiq facility is a critical component of the global oil supply chain, with a capacity of seven million barrels per day. Despite the severity of the attack, Brent crude oil prices have only dropped slightly in response.