Yesterday on Cinco de Mayo, there was an attack on the UAE Port of Fujairah, which is located in the Emirate of Fujairah. The UAE has accused Iran of the attack, even though some within the Iranian government deny responsibility. Regardless, the Port of Fujairah is a very valuable target indeed.
The Port of Fujairah itself and the surrounding petroleum infrastructure make up the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, which can be thought of as one interconnected entity.
The entire complex:
- contains 70 million barrels of storage
- connects to the 1.5-million-barrels-per-day Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP) which flows across the UAE (also known as the Habshan – Fujairah Pipeline)
- is on the Gulf of Oman side of the Strait of Hormuz which makes it possible to export crude without passing through the strait
Additionally, as a result of the high amount of oil tanker traffic that services the Gulf area, Fujairah is one of the major bunker fuel hubs in the world. Bunker fuel is the fuel burned by ships for power.
This Reuters article does a great job laying out the basics of the port and its importance.