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Bahrain’s state energy company declared force majeure on its oil shipments on Monday after an Iranian attack set its only refinery ablaze, becoming the latest Gulf state to invoke the clause as Iran widens its campaign against regional energy infrastructure.
A strike targeting Bahrain’s sprawling Al-Ma’ameer oil facility caused a fire at the complex along with material damage, the Bahrain News Agency reported, though no casualties were recorded and firefighting operations were under way.
Videos widely shared on social media showed thick smoke billowing from the industrial zone housing the refinery.
In its force majeure notice, Bapco Energies said its “group operations have been affected by the ongoing regional conflict in the Middle East and the recent attack on its refinery complex.”
Force majeure is a legal provision that frees parties from liability when failure to meet contractual obligations results from events beyond their control.
The company said it could still meet domestic demand.
The 90-year-old refinery was first reported damaged last week.
Bapco had recently modernised the plant and boosted its capacity to up to up to 380,000 barrels per day, upgrading units capable of producing more jet fuel and diesel.
Bahrain is not the first Gulf state to take the step.
QatarEnergy made a similar declaration last Wednesday after two of its liquefied natural gas facilities were struck, forcing a production pause and sending fresh volatility through global energy markets.
Qatar’s energy minister had warned that all Gulf exporters would be forced to follow suit within days. Kuwait has also declared force majeure on oil sales after cutting output at its fields and refineries.
The energy shock comes as Iran also targeted a residential area in Bahrain, wounding 32 people including children and as a separate Iranian drone attack damaged one of the kingdom’s desalination plants — the first time an Arab country had reported Iran targeting a desalination facility during the nine-day conflict, raising concern across a region that depends on such plants for its water supply.
Bahrain is an archipelago of 33 natural islands spanning approximately 760 square kilometres, roughly the size of Greater London, with a population of about 1.6 million, making it the third-smallest nation in Asia.
It is one of the most densely populated countries on earth, and one of the Gulf’s smallest but most strategically significant oil producers.
Brent crude surged above $114 a barrel on Monday, roughly 60% higher than when the US and Israel first struck Iran on 28 February.
President Donald Trump sought to play down the spike, writing on social media that short-term oil prices “will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over”.