From South Pars to Ras Laffan: How an Israeli Strike Unraveled the Gulf's Energy Order

After Israel struck Iran's South Pars gas field on March 18, Iran launched retaliatory attacks on energy infrastructure across the Persian Gulf. Among the hardest hit was Qatar's Ras Laffan Industrial City — home to the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facilities. Qatar has since expelled Iran's military attaché, and global oil and gas prices surged sharply once again, placing the international energy supply chain under severe strain.

Ras Laffan Industrial City lies approximately 80 kilometers northeast of the capital Doha, covers 295 square kilometers — roughly one-third the area of New York City — and supplies around 20% of the world's LNG, Al Jazeera has reported. It is widely regarded as the backbone of Qatar's economy.

Al Jazeera reported that Qatar's Foreign Ministry issued a strong condemnation on March 18, calling Iran's strike on Ras Laffan a "brazen attack" that caused significant damage to the facility. Qatar's Interior Ministry said fires had been brought under initial control with no casualties reported. State energy giant QatarEnergy confirmed all personnel were safe.

However, aQatarEnergy statement issued in the early hours of March 19 disclosed that several additional LNG facilities — beyond those initially struck — had also come under attack, causing "causing sizeable fires and extensive further damage."Bloomberg reported that Shell Plc's gas liquefaction plant at Ras Laffan also sustained serious damage in the strikes.

The trigger for the attack was Israel's earlier strike on Iran's South Pars field — the world's largest natural gas reservoir.The Financial Times noted it was the first attack on Iranian energy production infrastructure since the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran began on February 28.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf vowed retaliation "eye for an eye," warning the conflict had entered a "new phase." Iran subsequently designated energy facilities in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates as "legitimate targets" — and acted on that designation.

Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said on March 18 that its air defense systems had intercepted four ballistic missiles aimed at the capital Riyadh and two more targeting the country's Eastern Province. Bloomberg reported that debris from one missile even fell near an oil refinery south of Riyadh. The UAE Defense Ministry said Iran fired a total of 13 ballistic missiles and 27 drones. Abu Dhabi authorities confirmed that the Habshan gas facility had been suspended after falling debris from intercepted missiles, while the Bab oil field was also targeted.

Qatar — Qatar — which has long served as a mediator between Washington and Tehran — responded with an unusually tough stance. The Foreign Ministry condemned Iran's actions as a "dangerous escalation" and a "flagrant violation of sovereignty constituting a direct threat to national security," and declared Iran's embassy military and security attachés persona non grata, ordering their departure within 24 hours.

French President Emmanuel Macron held separate calls with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and U.S. President Donald Trump following the strikes. Macron called for an immediate halt to attacks on civilian infrastructure, stressing that civilians and their basic needs must be protected from military escalation, as must the security of energy supplies. Trump warned that the United States would destroy Iran's South Pars gas field if Qatar's LNG facilities were struck again.

News of the Ras Laffan strikes triggered immediate turmoil in global energy markets. European natural gas prices jumped 6% to 54 euros per megawatt-hour, the Financial Times reported. Brent crude futures rose 4.6% in early European trading to USD 112.30 per barrel. Bloomberg further reported that Brent futures extended gains on Thursday, climbing as much as 5.5% intraday.

"A retaliatory attack on Ras Laffan is exactly what the global natural gas market feared the most," Tom Marzec-Manser, director of European gas and LNG at Wood Mackenzie, an energy consultancy, told Bloomberg. "We’re yet to know which part of the industrial complex has been damaged, but either way it’s going to be bullish for gas prices when the market opens on Thursday (3/19)."

Qatar had, in fact, already suspended LNG production on March 2 following an earlier drone attack, declaring force majeure on deliveries — a development that had already unsettled global LNG markets.

Rachel Ziemba, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), told Al Jazeera that because Ras Laffan had already halted production prior to this attack, a new immediate shock to global supply may be limited. She cautioned, however, that Iran's strikes "could put further pressure on regional electricity supply" and "increase the risk of prices remaining elevated for an extended period."

Babak Hafezi, a professor of international business at American University, told Al Jazeera that Germany and the European Union have become net LNG importers since the Ukraine war and the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines. Other LNG-dependent economies include Japan, Turkey, and India. "Smaller countries with weaker economies in the Global South will be hurt the most," Hafezi said.

On the question of when the energy crisis might ease, Saul Kavonic, an energy analyst at MST Financial, warned the Financial Times that even after the conflict ends, the impact on oil and gas supply could persist for months or even years. Ira Joseph, a global fellow at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy, was more blunt: "It is difficult to see Qatar returning to the market before the middle of this year, and even that is an optimistic outlook."