A sharp escalation in the West Asia conflict has jolted global energy markets, with oil and gas prices surging amid mounting fears of a widespread supply disruption.
Crude oil climbed past $114 per barrel, while European gas prices spiked nearly 30 per cent after a series of coordinated attacks targeted critical energy infrastructure across the Gulf region.
The surge follows an Israel-led strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field and retaliatory attacks by Iran on Qatar’s LNG facilities, significantly intensifying geopolitical tensions.
QatarEnergy confirmed that Ras Laffan Industrial City came under missile attack late Wednesday, with extensive damage reported at the Pearl GTL facility and multiple LNG sites.
“In addition to the previous attack on Ras Laffan Industrial City that resulted in extensive damage to the Pearl GTL (Gas-to-Liquids) facility, several of its Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities were the subject of missile attacks, causing sizeable fires and extensive further damage. The fires at the facility have since been contained,” QatarEnergy was quoted as saying by news agencies.
The disruption has had an immediate market impact. Brent crude futures for May delivery rose 6.3 percent to $114.13 per barrel.
European gas markets reacted even more sharply, with benchmark prices at the Dutch TTF hub surging nearly 30 percent to 70.8 euros per megawatt-hour.
In the UK, gas prices jumped over 20 percent, reaching 173p per therm in early trading.
The crisis is particularly alarming because Qatar plays a pivotal role in global LNG supply, accounting for nearly a fifth of global shipments and ranking as the world’s second-largest exporter.
Production had already been suspended earlier this month following prior drone attacks on Ras Laffan and Mesaieed Industrial City, further tightening supply.
With tanker movement through the Strait of Hormuz, a route handling about 20 percent of global oil supply, now largely blocked, concerns over a deeper supply shock are intensifying.
Energy experts warn the situation could spiral into unprecedented territory if attacks expand beyond the Gulf.
“Can you imagine the response in the world if [Iran] targeted something outside of the Persian Gulf, a refinery in Rotterdam or a facility somewhere in the United States? That’s when all bets are off and prices could go absolutely apocalyptic,” said Tom Kloza, senior energy advisor at Gulf Oil.
The warning underscores fears that the crisis could evolve from a regional disruption into a full-scale global energy emergency.
Analysts say the nature of the crisis is already changing.
“We’re moving from a supply chain problem to potentially a supply problem. There’s a big difference. You fix supply chain problems quickly,” said Dan Pickering, founder and CIO of Pickering Energy Partners.
“If you start changing the ability to produce, whether it’s LNG or oil, and all of a sudden you can’t move the same amount of volumes because the volumes aren’t there … this is an escalation,” he added further.
Such a shift signals a more dangerous phase, where production itself is threatened, not just logistics.