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UAE counts energy infrastructure costs

8 April 2026

Since the conflict began on 28 February, the UAE has faced the most sustained aerial bombardment in its history. The two-week ceasefire announced on 7 April promises to halt the strikes, but does not address the damage they have left behind.

Energy infrastructure bore a significant share of the impact, with strikes and interception debris shutting down or curtailing operations at the Habshan gas processing complex, the Ruwais refinery, the Borouge petrochemicals plant at Ruwais, the Fujairah export terminal, and upstream assets at the Bu Hasa and Asab onshore fields.

Fujairah bypass degraded

The Habshan-Fujairah pipeline – also known as the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (Adcop) – is the UAE’s principal strategic asset for keeping crude exports moving in case of disruption to the Strait of Hormuz export route.

Running approximately 400 kilometres from Abu Dhabi’s onshore fields to the port of Fujairah, Adcop can routinely carry an estimated 1.5 million barrels a day (b/d), with a reported maximum throughput of close to 1.8 million b/d.

Iran moved against the Fujairah terminus almost immediately. On 3 March, debris from an intercepted drone triggered a fire at the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, damaging one of JSW Infrastructure’s storage tanks.

On 14 March, a fresh attack caused fires at oil storage facilities at the Port of Fujairah, with loading operations suspended. A separate drone strike on 16 March then triggered a large fire, leading to another suspension of oil loading operations.

The International Energy Agency estimated, prior to the conflict, that the UAE was exporting around 1.1 million b/d of domestic crude through Fujairah, leaving up to 700,000 b/d of additional headroom in a strait-closure scenario.

Despite the terminal disruptions, Kpler tracking data show Fujairah exports averaged 1.62 million b/d in March, up from 1.17 million b/d in February – but the repeated strikes compounded a crisis already defined by the Hormuz blockade.

Upstream oil field impacts

Iran’s strikes also spread well beyond the processing hubs and export terminals. On 16 March, a drone attack struck the Shah gas field, 180km southwest of the capital, deep in Abu Dhabi’s desert interior, and ignited a fire at the facility.

Operations were suspended while damage was assessed; no injuries were reported.

Shah supplies approximately 20% of the UAE’s gas and accounts for around 5% of global granulated sulphur output.

The field is operated by Adnoc Sour Gas – a joint venture 60% owned by Adnoc and 40% by Occidental Petroleum – with a capacity to produce 1.28 billion standard cubic feet of gas a day. The current status of operations is unknown.

On 30 March, Nasa Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) thermal anomaly data identified active fire signatures at two further onshore sites: at the natural gas processing facilities operated by Adnoc Onshore, and the Bu Hasa natural gas field – both around 120km southwest of the capital.

Separately, satellite imagery indicated significant damage at the Asab Central Degassing Station, an Adnoc facility 130km directly south from the capital.

No official statement from Adnoc or the Abu Dhabi Media Office has confirmed the nature or extent of damage at any of these three sites.

Industrial cluster damage

The strikes on the Ruwais Industrial Complex, roughly 200 kilometres west of the capital, have perhaps been the most concerning for Abu Dhabi’s long-term strategic ambitions.

The complex houses the Adnoc Ruwais refinery, the Borouge petrochemicals plant, the Fertil fertiliser facility and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal under construction.

On 10 March, Adnoc halted the Ruwais refinery – capable of processing 922,000 barrels of oil a day – as a precautionary measure after a drone strike ignited a fire in the surrounding industrial zone.

The most recent strike at Ruwais landed on 5 April, when authorities confirmed they were battling fires caused by falling debris following successful air defence interceptions. Operations were suspended at the time, pending a damage assessment.

The latter strike came at a commercially sensitive time – just five days after the 31 March creation of Borouge International – a $60bn merger by Adnoc’s investment arm XRG and Austria’s Borouge, Borealis and Nova Chemicals into a single industrial platform.

Upstream gas field strikes

The Habshan gas complex at the Bab field was targeted three times over three weeks.

On 18 March, Abu Dhabi confirmed an attack on the Habshan facility, stating it had been successfully intercepted with no injuries. Operations were temporarily suspended before the site returned to service.

The second strike, on 3 April, was more damaging. Falling debris from intercepted projectiles ignited two fires at the complex.

The Abu Dhabi Media Office confirmed that one person lost their life during the evacuation of the site, and four others sustained minor injuries – the first fatality at an energy facility in the conflict.

Operations were suspended immediately, with Adnoc assessing damage at the UAE’s main facility for collecting and processing gas from the emirate’s fields and distributing it for domestic use. No recovery timeline has been made public.

The third strike came on 7 April, in the hours around the ceasefire announcement, with the Abu Dhabi Media Office confirming authorities were responding to a fire at Habshan following an intercepted attack.

The accumulation problem

The repeat targeting of multiple sites, and most notably, Fujairah, Habshan and Ruwais, has demonstrated Iran’s readiness to re-engage restored sites throughout the conflict.

That pattern materially complicates any assessment of repair economics or restart confidence across the affected portfolio, even under ceasefire conditions.

The UAE is now simultaneously managing the suspension or curtailment of activities at multiple facilities across multiple verticals within its energy sector value chain.

No official repair timeline has been provided for Habshan, Shah, Ruwais or Borouge – let alone the sites for which no official confirmation of damages exists.

This absence could become increasingly difficult to sustain commercially as customers seek contractual certainty on when supply from the UAE’s core energy infrastructure will resume.

The ceasefire may have halted the strikes; but remaining are both the repair bill and the need for clearly articulated answers to critical commercial questions.

UAE energy infrastructure: conflict timeline

Key strikes on UAE energy assets, 28 February – 7 April 2026

Date

Facility/site

Detail

28 Feb

Conflict begins

US-Israeli strikes on Iran trigger Iranian retaliatory aerial campaign against UAE and wider Gulf

3–16 Mar

Fujairah Oil Industry Zone / Port of Fujairah

Repeated strikes and interception debris cause fires at storage and loading facilities

3 Mar – JSW Infrastructure storage tank damaged

14/16 Mar – incidents suspend loading operations

10 Mar

Ruwais refinery

Adnoc halts refinery as precaution after drone strike ignites fire in surrounding industrial zone

16 Mar

Shah gas field

Drone strike ignites fire; operations suspended

18 Mar

Bab field/ Habshan gas complex

Interception debris causes shutdown. No injuries. Operations temporarily suspended before resuming

30 Mar

ADCO facilities / Bu Hasa field / Asab CDS

NASA Firms thermal data identifies active fire signatures at Adnoc Onshore gas processing facilities and Bu Hasa field. Satellite imagery indicates damage at Asab Central Degassing Station. No official comment

3 Apr

Habshan gas complex (second strike)

Interception debris ignites two fires. One fatality during evacuation. Four injuries. Abu Dhabi Media Office confirms “significant damage”

5 Apr

Borouge petrochemicals, Ruwais

Three fires at Borouge plant following interception debris. Operations suspended

8 Apr

Two-week ceasefire agreed

US and Iran agree two-week ceasefire mediated by Pakistan. Iran agrees to allow coordinated passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

8 Apr

Habshan gas complex (third strike)

Authorities confirm response to fire at Habshan following intercepted attack, in the hours around the ceasefire announcement.

Sources: Abu Dhabi Media Office; UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs; JSW Infrastructure exchange filing; NASA FIRMS thermal data; OSINT satellite imagery, MEED.

 

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John Bambridge

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