March 19 (Reuters) - Saudi oil loadings sent to the Red

Sea port of Yanbu resumed after a brief halt that sent oil

prices surging, two sources told Reuters on Thursday.

Loadings were halted after staff had been evacuated, one of

the sources said, after a drone crashed at Saudi Aramco's

SAMREF refinery at the port earlier on Thursday.

An industry source said there was minimal impact on the

refinery, but the damage was still being assessed.

Aramco, the world's top oil exporter, is trying to boost

crude exports via Yanbu to offset the Strait of Hormuz

disruption, with loadings seen rising to record volumes in

March. Most of the cargoes are destined for Asia.

Iran has previously warned that the SAMREF refinery would be

attacked in retaliation to Israel's attack on its South Pars gas

field, a major escalation in the war with the U.S. and Israel.