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The development level of Russia’s oil and gas machinery sector is enabling Russia to supply equipment to friendly nations, with one example being Russia’s offer to partners on the Arabian Peninsula to assist in restoring oil refineries that have been attacked, according to Anton Alikhanov, Russia’s Industry and Trade Minister. He was speaking at the International Russian Engineer Congress.
Alikhanov said that “Global partnerships are currently being put to the test. When oil refineries were struck during the crisis in the Middle East, we offered our colleagues on the Arabian Peninsula assistance in restoring them. “We have developed our expertise in oil and gas equipment sufficiently to offer an alternative to global licensors. We have even established our own system of industry standards, competing with those of the American Petroleum Institute, and our standards are now gaining recognition among our Arab partners.”
He added that Russia aims to achieve similar recognition for its standards in the areas of LNG equipment and offshore development, clarifying that “Our engineers still need to integrate new equipment into complete technological chains for delivery under EPC contracts in these areas.”
While the United States has attacked Iran, Iranian or Iran-backed strikes have disrupted critical energy assets throughout the Middle East. These include:
The Strait of Hormuz
Commercial oil tankers and maritime traffic have faced blockades and targeted assaults. More than 135 ships have been damaged or destroyed as of the first week of November.
United Arab Emirates
Key facilities including the Ruwais refinery, Habshan gas plant, Shah gas field, Das Island LNG, and the Port of Fujairah have faced closures, fires, or restricted export routes.
Saudi Arabia
Major operations at the Ras Tanura crude processing plant and the ExxonMobil-co-owned Samref refinery were temporarily halted following drone attacks, alongside strikes on other Red Sea installations. Saudi Arabia’s energy sector has declined by a sharp 21.8% to 24.7% in oil-related economic activity since March.
Qatar
Missile strikes on the Ras Laffan LNG and gas-to-liquids facilities caused extensive damage and forced QatarEnergy to declare force majeure on select contracts.
Kuwait & Bahrain
Kuwaiti processing units at Mina Al-Ahmadi and other facilities suffered severe shutdowns, while Bahrain’s Bapco Energies refinery sustained damage requiring a declaration of force majeure
Iraq
The Khor Mor gas field, Khormala, and Sarsang oil fields have experienced repeated drone strikes and production halts linked to Iran-backed militias.
US and Russian Technical Support
The U.S. State Department has issued departure orders for U.S. government employees and family members at multiple Middle Eastern countries. Essential workers at Saudi Aramco’s eastern headquarters were also told to evacuate following Houthi drone and infrastructure attacks, leaving damaged facilities with a lack of repair and maintenance crew to service or repair damaged facilities.
In contrast, Russia has offered to send oil and gas equipment and engineering expertise to assist Middle Eastern partners in restoring oil refineries damaged during regional conflicts. Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov stated that Russia offered assistance to countries on the Arabian Peninsula to help repair damaged oil refineries, positioning Russian machinery and technology as an alternative to global licensors.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian officials (including Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei) have held high-level discussions regarding gas pipeline construction and Russian gas supplies to Iran to help resolve local shortages and regional export logistics. Whether this is taken up by other Middle eastern countries appears to be more a standardization issue of matching Russian equipment to US standards, as Alikhanov noted. The reputational damage to US contractors and energy industry personnel leaving the region when Russians are prepared to engage will also be a consideration in Middle Eastern attitudes.
