By Yousef Saba

March 2 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia shut its biggest domestic oil refinery on Monday after a drone strike, a source said, as Israeli and U.S. strikes and Iranian retaliation forced shutdowns ‌of oil and gas facilities across the Middle East.

A wave of attacks on the region stretched into ‌a third day, resulting in the precautionary suspension of most oil production in Iraqi Kurdistan and at several major Israeli gas fields, throttling ​exports to Egypt.

State oil giant Saudi Aramco’s 550,000 barrels per day (bpd) Ras Tanura refinery, which was shut as a precautionary measure, is part of an energy complex on the kingdom’s Gulf coast which also serves as a critical export terminal for Saudi crude oil.

In Iraqi Kurdistan, which exported 200,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) via pipeline to Turkey’s Ceyhan port in ‌February, companies including DNO, Gulf Keystone ⁠Petroleum, Dana Gas and HKN Energy have stopped output at their fields as a precaution, with no damage reported.

Offshore Israel, the giant Chevron-operated Leviathan gas field was shut on Saturday, according ⁠to sources, while Energean shut down its production vessel serving smaller gas fields.

DRONES INTERCEPTED IN SAUDI ARABIA

The situation at Aramco’s Ras Tanura refinery is under control, the source said. Two drones were intercepted at the facility, with debris causing a limited ​fire, the ​Saudi defence ministry’s spokesperson said on Al Arabiya TV, adding ​there were no injuries.

Aramco did not immediately respond ‌to an emailed request for comment.

Some of the refinery’s units were shut as a precautionary measure but the supply of petroleum and its derivatives to local markets was not affected, Saudi state news agency SPA said, citing an unnamed official at the energy ministry.

Still, its shuttering will likely add to supply anxieties as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of global oil consumption flows, grinds to a near-halt after vessels were ‌attacked around it on Sunday. Brent crude futures surged roughly 10% ​on Monday to over $82 a barrel. [O/R]

ATTACK SEEN AS SIGNIFICANT ESCALATION

“The attack ​on Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura refinery marks a significant ​escalation, with Gulf energy infrastructure now squarely in Iran’s sights,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal Middle ‌East analyst at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft.

“The ​attack is also likely to ​move Saudi Arabia and neighbouring Gulf states closer to joining U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran.”