Qatar halted production at its liquefied natural gas facilities on Monday after Iranian drone attacks targeted the sprawling Ras Laffan complex, which hosts the country’s massive gas trains responsible for supercooling natural gas for export. QatarEnergy, which supplies roughly 20% of the global LNG market and serves mainly Asian clients, signaled that force majeure declarations on shipments were imminent. Additional strikes hit the Mesaieed industrial zone in southern Qatar, home to petrochemical and manufacturing operations, highlighting the widening impact of regional tensions.
The attacks coincide with a broader wave of Middle East hostilities stretching into a third day, prompting precautionary suspensions at Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura oil refinery, Iraqi Kurdistan oil fields, and Israeli offshore gas facilities. Saudi Aramco temporarily shut its 550,000 barrels-per-day Ras Tanura refinery, though limited fires caused by intercepted drones were contained, and local petroleum supply remained unaffected. In Iraqi Kurdistan, operators including DNO, Gulf Keystone Petroleum, Dana Gas, and HKN Energy paused production, while offshore Israel, Chevron and Energean suspended output at the Leviathan, Tamar, and smaller gas fields.
The disruptions triggered a dramatic surge in energy prices. Benchmark European gas at the Dutch TTF hub jumped 46%, while oil prices spiked as much as 13% intraday to above $82 per barrel, the highest since January 2025, as the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for a fifth of global oil supplies, saw near-complete shipping interruptions. Analysts warn that Gulf energy infrastructure is now squarely in Iran’s crosshairs, raising the stakes for Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and neighboring states. Torbjorn Soltvedt of Verisk Maplecroft called the attack on Ras Tanura a “significant escalation” likely to push Gulf nations closer to coordinating with U.S. and Israeli military responses.
