Some oil loading operations suspended after fire in UAE's Fujairah, sources say

Summary

· US attacks military targets at Iran's Kharg Island oil terminal

· Iran's Revolutionary Guards said US interests in UAE are legitimate targets

· Fujairah loads UAE Murban crude; impact on loadings not ​yet clear


Some oil-loading operations have been suspended in the United Arab Emirates' Fujairah emirate, a major bunkering hub and crude export terminal, after a drone attack and fire on Saturday, industry ​and trade sources said.

The suspension comes hours after the US attacked military targets on ​Iran's Kharg Island oil export terminal and Iran's Revolutionary Guards responded ⁠by saying that US interests in the UAE - including ports, docks and military locations - ​were legitimate targets.

Fujairah, outside the Strait of Hormuz, is the outlet for about 1 million ​barrels per day of the UAE's Murban crude oil - a volume equal to about 1% of world demand. Reuters could not immediately establish the impact on loadings.

Earlier this week, the International Energy Agency ​said the world is facing its biggest ever oil supply crisis due to the effective ​closing of the Strait of Hormuz, a channel along the Iranian coast, since the US and Israel ‌began ⁠airstrikes on Iran on February 28, with the UAE among producers forced to cut oil output.

The fire in Fujairah occurred after debris fell during the interception of a drone, but no injuries were reported, the emirate's media office said.

Civil defence forces are handling the incident to ​contain the fire, it ​added.

Authorities did not ⁠provide any information about the suspension of operations.

Abu Dhabi state oil giant ADNOC, which operates in the emirate, did not immediately respond ​to a request for comment.

Bloomberg News earlier reported that some ​oil-loading operations ⁠at Fujairah had been suspended after a drone attack and fire.

On Tuesday, ADNOC shut its Ruwais refinery in response to a fire at a facility within the complex following a drone ⁠strike, ​a source with knowledge of the situation said, in ​further disruption of energy infrastructure due to the US-Israeli war on Iran.