The U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks on its neighbors have ignited a regional conflict that has set off alarm bells across the energy industry.
The state-owned QatarEnergy announced Monday that it would pause its production of liquefied natural gas following Iranian missile and drone attacks at two of its facilities.
Qatar is one of the world’s top exporters of liquefied natural gas, and a severe production limit by QatarEnergy could pose significant complications for global energy prices.
After QatarEnergy’s announcement, European natural gas prices hit their highest point in a year, jumping by nearly 50%. It’s one of the biggest spikes in natural gas prices since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
However, as Iran, Israel and the U.S. exchange attacks, the waterways used by Qatar and other Persian Gulf states may be inhospitable. The Strait of Hormuz, through which at least one-fifth of the world’s oil travels each year, saw a near 70% reduction in traffic this weekend as the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, according to data from ship tracking site MarineTraffic.
Most ships that were traveling through the strait performed U-turns or diverted to alternative routes to avoid danger.
Those dangers continued Monday, as Iran apparently expanded its retaliatory efforts to include oil tankers in nearby waterways. Oman’s state-run news agency reported Monday that an unmanned ship attacked a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker, causing explosions and killing at least one crew member.
It remains unclear if the Iranian military operated the ship that attacked the tanker.
Iran also launched a drone strike on an Aramco oil refinery in Saudi Arabia on Monday, creating massive fires and forcing the facility to close. The Saudi Arabian government, which owns Aramco, said the facility sustained minor damage and oil markets would not be affected.
But the attack clearly frustrated Saudi leaders. Citing an unnamed source close to the government, the Agence France-Presse reported Monday that Saudi Arabia would retaliate against Iranian oil refineries if Tehran continues to attack Saudi energy infrastructure.
Other attacks on refineries in the Gulf could affect oil prices. Following the U.S. strikes on Saturday, crude oil prices rose by more than 10%, reaching over $70 a barrel early Monday.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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