The United Arab Emirates has suspended operations at a key natural gas field in Abu Dhabi following the first direct attack on a producing field in the UAE as Iran escalates its drone-strike war against energy assets in the Gulf.
“Abu Dhabi authorities and relevant response teams have contained and brought under control a fire that broke out at Shah gas field, caused by a drone attack,” the Abu Dhabi Media Office said early on Tuesday.
“Operations at the facility have been suspended while damage is assessed, and no injuries have been reported.”
The Shah gas plant in Abu Dhabi accounts for about 20% of the UAE’s total gas supply and 5% of the world’s granulated sulfur, according to the UAE outlet The National.
The Shah gas field is operated by ADNOC Sour Gas, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi’s national oil company ADNOC with 60% and U.S. firm Occidental Petroleum, which holds a 40% share. The venture was established in 2010 to maximize the value of the Shah Gas Field, which has the capacity to produce more than 1 billion cubic feet of sour gas per day.
Adding to the gas field disruption is also the on-and-off suspension of oil loadings from the Fujairah oil port in the UAE, the only export terminal in the Emirates that sits outside the Strait of Hormuz.
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Over the past four days, Fujairah has suspended loadings several times.
Fujairah, on the Gulf of Oman, has been one of several key oil export points in the Middle East that do not depend on tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been virtually closed for traffic for more than two weeks now.
But Fujairah has been repeatedly targeted by strikes that have forced suspension of loading operations, the latest being early on Tuesday, per a shipping agent cited by Bloomberg.
“Operations at the Fujairah Oil Tanker Terminal remain impacted following a recent incident, with FOTT berths currently not operational, and Vopak terminals having suspended operations at SPM until further notice,” Inchcape Shipping Services said in a Tuesday report on the operational status of energy infrastructure in the Middle East.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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