Operations had already been reduced by around 20% earlier in the week due to the regional situation.

It’s not just oil which makes Ruwais strategically important. The expanding industrial area aims to open a blue ammonia facility next year and Ruwais LNG, positioned as the MENA region’s first LNG export hub, is scheduled to open in the second half of 2028.

The industrial area produces around 300,000 metric tonnes of hydrogen a year, which is primarily used for refining and petrochemical operations.

The upcoming blue ammonia facility, targeting one million tonnes per annum (mtpa), is a joint venture involving TA’ZIZ (ADNOC-ADQ joint venture), Fertiglobe (a partnership between OCI and ADNOC), Mitsui & Co., and GS Energy. An accompanying carbon capture project is slated to capture 271Mt/year of CO2 from hydrogen production.

A new $1.7bn chemical project is planned for Al Ruwais, also involving TA’ZIZ, and expected to produce low-carbon ammonia from 2028.

Al Ruwais LNG is targeting 9.6 mtpa through two liquefaction trains. Contracts have been signed with China’s ENN LNG, Osaka Gas, and Germany’s EnBW, and ADNOC Gas, which is the developer, has a range of deals covering compression and pipelines work.

The Ruwais refinery closure is the latest industrial impact in the Gulf, which is reeling from the Iran conflict.

Bahrain’s Bapco Energies served notice of force majeure on its group operations which have been impacted by an Iranian drone attack on its refinery complex.

Its Sitra refinery produces hydrogen primarily through a high-capacity hydrogen production unit. Recently it added a clean hydrogen project using electrolysis powered by renewable energy, which supplies 20% of the refinery’s total hydrogen, as part of a $6bn modernisation programme.

A new wave of attacks on Gulf states was reported on Wednesday morning.