In 1940 a 3,000 barrels per day plant was completed at Ras Tanura, which operated only till 1945. The Ras Tanura Refinery was a war emergency measure, and so its construction was subject to approval by the military for the diversion of resources and it was rushed to completion. The cost of $50 million was however entirely covered by the company. Employment during the 1.5 year construction period was on the order of 1,500 Americans and 10,000 Saudi Arabs. It was initially designed for 50,000 barrels per day, but completed for an actual capacity of up to 115,000 in the latter part of 1945. As depicted in the
Oil Weekly map, the refinery was connected to the Dammam field by 39 miles of 10-inch pipe. From the field a pipeline also supplied the nearby large refinery of the
Bahrain Petroleum Company which had opened in 1937. The marine terminal was built to be able to load 4 tankers at once at a rate of 12,000 barrels per hour. On 2 March 2026, operations were halted at the oil refinery following damage by the
Islamic Republic of Iran during the
2026 Iran war. Local authorities said a limited fire broke out after debris fell within the site, but the blaze was quickly brought under control. It was initially believed to be caused by a drone attack but Saudi officials stated it was debris from an intercepted Iranian missile. The refinery was briefly closed as a result of the attack, but it reopened on 13 March. Iran's deputy foreign minister
Majid Takht-Ravanchi denied that Iran had targeted the facility. ==Transportation==