Saudi Aramco-Exxon refinery SAMREF in Saudi Arabia's Yanbu targeted, source says

By Yousef Saba and Jana Choukeir

March 19 (Reuters) - Oil giant Saudi Aramco's SAMREF refinery in the Red Sea port of Yanbu was targeted in an aerial attack on Thursday, an industry source said, adding there was minimal impact, after other attacks on energy facilities in Qatar and the UAE in response to U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iranian energy installations.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had issued an evacuation warning to several oil facilities across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, including SAMREF, which is a joint venture between Saudi Aramco 2222.SE and Exxon Mobil XOM.N.

The warning followed a strike on Iran's South Pars gas field, a major escalation in the war with the United States and Israel.

Yanbu has been one of two major export outlets for any crude oil out of Gulf Arab countries since Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz after the war erupted late last month. The strait, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, normally carries a fifth of the world's oil supply.

The other major export outlet is the United Arab Emirates' port of Fujairah, which has come under a series of attacks that suspended operations there. It was not immediately clear whether loadings were operational on Thursday.

Saudi Aramco did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

On Wednesday, QatarEnergy said Iranian missile attacks on Ras Laffan, the site of Qatar's core LNG processing operations, caused "extensive damage". Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed four ballistic missiles launched toward Riyadh and the UAE halted operations at its Habshan gas facility after a drone interception.