DMEA: Refineries under fire again

Yemen’s Houthi militia this week claimed another attack on Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure, this time targeting Aramco facilities at Jeddah and Jubail.

Just a day after Aramco had announced a deal for the lease of its oil pipeline network, the Houthis struck at dawn in a retaliatory move against the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen.

Jubail is home to Aramco’s wholly owned SASREF facility as well as the Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical (SATORP) joint venture with France’s Total, while Jeddah hosts a products distribution plant following the decommissioning of the refinery in 2017. The attack follows a late March strike on the Riyadh refinery, which caused a fire that was quickly extinguished.

In Nigeria, officials from the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) toured new modular refineries in Delta State to assess capacity and provide oversight on the preparedness of the facilities ahead of commissioning. The 10,000 barrel per day unit is expected to be run by Nigerians and will produce premium motor spirit for use in the surrounding area.

Meanwhile, as ADNOC considers the IPO of its drilling subsidiary, it is also mulling the listing of its Fertiglobe JV with OCI. The JV was formed in 2019 and comprises the ammonia and urea assets of the two partners. Banks have been invited to pitch to work on the deal, which is reported to be worth at least $1bn.