UAE’s Fujairah port resumes some crude loadings after attack

The UAE’s port of Fujairah resumed some loadings of crude oil this week following a drone strike that caused fires across the facility; however, state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) has opted to keep its loading operations suspended, according to Reuters.

Citing two unnamed sources, Reuters highlighted that loadings at the port restarted around March 15, with two out of three single-point moorings (SPMs) operational.

ADNOC’s cautious approach is understandable, with Iran having highlighted three ports – Fujairah, Jebel Ali in Dubai, and Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi – for strikes that it claimed were now “legitimate targets” because they had been used by the US for its attack on the country.

Fujairah, located just outside the Strait of Hormuz, is normally a port from which 1mn barrels per day of the UAE’s Murban crude exits – accounting for around 1% of global demand, according to Reuters.

On March 14, Iran’s official judiciary news agency, Mizan, said that US forces were located in the civilian ports and warned residents that the areas could be targeted, telling those around the area to evacuate.

Strikes on energy and export infrastructure in the region look set to worsen, with US President Donald Trump noting on March 13 that he had ordered US Central Command (CENTCOM) to conduct a bombing raid on Iran’s Kharg Island – an export terminal through which around 20% of the world’s oil supply goes. The following day, Central Command revealed that US forces had hit 90 military targets on the island.

Brent crude oil futures also closed at more than $100 per barrel for the second day in a row that weekend, with oil prices now having climbed by more than 40% since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran.