Iran's attacks on oil and gas facilities and infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) threaten the stability of global energy markets and the Middle East, the UAE Foreign Ministry said.
„We strongly condemn Iran's attacks on the Habshan gas processing facility. Such actions violate international law and threaten the stability not only of the entire Middle East, but also of global energy markets“, the statement said.
Iran has attacked key UAE oil export routes that bypass the Strait of Hormuz. The Habshan-Fujairah pipeline is a critical element of this infrastructure, as it allows the emirate to export crude oil directly across the Indian Ocean.
The Habshan Natural Gas Complex is one of the largest gas processing facilities in the world. It is located in the southwest of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, approximately 115–150 km from the capital.
The complex is operated by state-owned company ADNOC Gas and is critical to the UAE's energy security.
It consists of five plants with a total of 14 processing trains, which have a combined processing capacity of 6.1 billion standard cubic feet (bscfd) of gas per day. In addition to natural gas for local consumption (providing about 60% of the country's needs), the complex produces liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and condensate, as well as sulfur (as a by-product), with the region being one of the largest sulfur suppliers in the world.
Habshan is connected by a large-scale pipeline network (over 200 km) to the offshore Umm Shaif field and the Ruwais coastal industrial complex.
The most recent and modern expansion of the complex, completed around 2013, was worth nearly $7 billion. It is designed with a focus on low carbon emissions and uses artificial intelligence to optimize assets.
Projects are currently underway to increase capacity to over 13 bscfd by 2029 and build new compressor stations to feed the Ruwais LNG project.
The amount of concrete used to build Habshan 5 is enough to build the world's tallest building - the Burj Khalifa.
The length of the electrical cables in the facility could cover 20% of the Earth's surface.
The complex has its own railway station (part of the Etihad Rail network) for the transportation of sulfur.