2026-03-09 05:06:00
It is being reported by Reuters that there is thick smoke rising from the direction of Bahrain’s Bapco oil refinery. This is one of the oldest and most strategic energy hubs in the region, with Bahrain even investing heavily to modernise the facility and infrastructure.
For some context, the energy accounts for roughly 70% of Bahrain’s GDP and much of that is anchored by Bapco. Think of it as the Aramco to Saudi Arabia but for Bahrain.
In terms of output capacity, Bapco’s refinery hub produces about 405,000 barrels per day and that is no small amount. To put things into perspective, Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura facility – also disrupted by Iran’s drone strikes – does about 550,000 barrels per day.
The Reuters’ witness says that the smoke surrounding the Bapco oil refinery comes after the government had earlier said that damage was sustained around that area as a result of Iranian drone attacks.
The Iran playbook looks to be the same as it was since the start of last week already. And that is to inflict as much pain across the region as possible while pressuring higher oil prices. All of that in hopes that Gulf nations will persuade Trump to back down, if not for the fact that higher oil prices might do that.
