On March 9, 2026, the Gulf region was rocked by a dramatic escalation in the ongoing Middle East conflict, as Bahrain’s main energy company, Bapco Energies, declared force majeure on its operations in the wake of a damaging attack on its refinery complex. The incident, which set Bahrain’s largest oil facility in Al-Ma’ameer ablaze, is just the latest in a string of assaults on energy infrastructure across the region, sending shockwaves through global oil markets and raising urgent questions about the security of the world’s energy supply.
According to Reuters and the state-run Bahrain News Agency, Bapco Energies said its operations “have been affected by the ongoing regional conflict in the Middle East and the recent attack on its refinery complex.” The company moved swiftly to activate contingency measures, assuring the public that “domestic market requirements remain fully secured and supplies will continue without interruption, supported by contingency plans already in place.” Emergency teams responded rapidly, containing the fire and preventing casualties, but the material damage to the complex was evident.
This declaration of force majeure—a legal provision that releases a company from its contractual obligations due to extraordinary circumstances—underscores the mounting pressure on the Gulf’s vital energy corridor. The clause is typically invoked in the face of wars, natural disasters, or events beyond a company’s control, and it has become an increasingly common refrain in the region as hostilities intensify. Force majeure declarations have now spread across the Gulf energy sector, with Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and QatarEnergy also announcing similar steps after shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz halted crude and liquefied natural gas exports.
The timing of the attack on Bahrain’s refinery could hardly have been worse. The refinery, a 90-year-old facility that recently underwent a major upgrade to boost its capacity to 400,000 barrels a day and modernize units for increased jet fuel and diesel production, is the island nation’s only such facility. Its significance for Bahrain’s domestic and export energy needs cannot be overstated. Despite the damage, Bapco Energies maintained that local market needs are being met, thanks to the company’s robust contingency planning.
The attack on Bahrain’s energy infrastructure was part of a broader campaign of strikes that has engulfed the region since Iran’s leadership transition and the intensification of the Israel-Iran conflict. According to Associated Press and Bahrain News Agency, Iranian strikes set off fires not only in Bahrain but also targeted facilities in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar. In the UAE, authorities reported two people wounded by shrapnel from intercepted Iranian missiles over Abu Dhabi. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted several drones targeting its massive Shaybah oil field, and in Kuwait, critical infrastructure was also targeted.
Beyond the immediate impact on oil facilities, Bahrain accused Iran of damaging one of its desalination plants—a move that raised fresh concerns in a region where water security is as critical as energy security. The country’s electricity and water authority reassured residents that supplies remained online, but the specter of further attacks on vital infrastructure loomed large.
Iran’s tightening grip on the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil shipping lane, has had a chilling effect on global energy markets. Nearly a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes through this narrow waterway, and Iranian attacks have nearly halted tanker movement through the strait. As a result, Brent crude oil surged past $114 a barrel on March 9, 2026, a staggering 60% jump from prices before the outbreak of hostilities between Israel, the United States, and Iran. At one point, prices spiked as high as $120 a barrel, before retreating slightly, according to AP.
The reverberations from the refinery attack and the broader conflict have not been confined to the Gulf. World markets plummeted on the news, and governments around the globe began scrambling to secure alternative energy supplies. The U.S. State Department ordered nonessential personnel and families of all staff to leave Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and certain consulates in Pakistan and Turkey, citing the escalation in attacks and the growing risks to American citizens and diplomatic missions.
The regional conflict has also exacted a heavy human toll. According to officials cited by AP, at least 1,230 people have been killed in Iran, 397 in Lebanon, and 11 in Israel since the war’s outbreak. In Bahrain, the attack on Al-Ma’ameer wounded 32 people, including several children, but there were no reported fatalities at the refinery. Elsewhere, a U.S. service member died of injuries from an Iranian attack on troops in Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number of U.S. military deaths in the region to seven since the conflict began.
Amid this turmoil, Iran’s political landscape underwent a seismic shift. The Assembly of Experts named Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the new supreme leader. The younger Khamenei, described by observers as even more hard-line than his father, was chosen despite criticism from some Iranian political figures who decried the hereditary succession as reminiscent of the monarchy overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Support from the Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah was swift, with both groups issuing statements backing the new leader.
Ali Larijani, a top Iranian security official, praised the Assembly of Experts for “courageously” convening even as airstrikes continued in Tehran. He emphasized that Khamenei “can handle this situation,” noting the new leader’s training under his father. However, the international response was far less sanguine. U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed the new supreme leader as “unacceptable” and a “lightweight,” while Israel openly described him as a potential target.
As the conflict rages, the Gulf’s energy sector finds itself at the crossroads of geopolitics and global economics. The force majeure declarations by Bapco Energies and other regional energy giants reflect both the extraordinary challenges facing the industry and the determination to keep domestic and international supplies flowing, despite the chaos. The world is watching anxiously, hoping that contingency plans will hold, and that the flames consuming the Middle East’s energy heartland will not ignite a broader crisis.
For now, Bahrain’s battered refinery stands as both a symbol of resilience and a stark warning: in a region where oil is king, the fallout from war can be swift, unpredictable, and far-reaching.