Iran strikes Israel’s largest oil refinery, causing power outages

According to Haaretz, one of the missiles Iran fired at Israel hit the Haifa oil refinery. Israel’s national medical service reported one person injured, who sustained minor shrapnel wounds.

At the same time, media outlets reported that power went out in the suburbs of Haifa following Iran’s missile strike.

The Jerusalem Post, for its part, writes that the Haifa refinery was damaged by debris.

Photo: aftermath of the strike on the Haifa oil refinery (haaretz.co.il)

"The damage to the electricity grid in the north is localized and not significant. The Israel Electric Corporation teams are already working on the ground and have restored electricity to most of the disconnected areas," said Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen.

He added that the power supply will be fully restored very soon.

Why the Haifa oil refinery is important

The Haifa oil refinery is the largest oil refining and petrochemical complex in Israel, owned and operated by Bazan Group (formerly Oil Refineries Ltd.).

It is located in the Haifa Bay area in the north of the country and is one of Israel’s two main refining facilities (the other is the Ashdod refinery).

The complex includes several plants for oil refining and petrochemical production. Its maximum processing capacity is approximately 197,000 barrels of oil per day, equivalent to about 9.8 million tons of crude oil per year.

Iran previously struck the Haifa refinery in June last year. At that time, the media reported that the refinery had ceased operations following the attack, and three people were reported killed.

Notably, on March 19, it was reported that Iran also struck the SAMREF oil refinery in Saudi Arabia. This is the country’s only refinery capable of exporting its products, bypassing the blocked Strait of Hormuz.