Iran Strikes the World’s Biggest LNG Plant and Gas Prices Explode 26% in Hours

TLDR

• Iranian missiles struck Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG hub, causing extensive damage to the world’s largest gas-to-liquids plant
• Brent crude jumped 8.1% to $116.12/barrel; Dutch TTF natural gas surged 26.1% to €69.1/MWh
• Israel struck Iran’s South Pars gas field; Trump warned the US would destroy South Pars entirely if Iran attacks Qatar again
• Oil prices are up roughly 50% since the war began, with US gas prices hitting $3.84/gallon — a two-year high
• Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE also reported drone and missile strikes on refining and energy infrastructure

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Iran launched ballistic missiles at Qatar’s Ras Laffan industrial city early Thursday, striking one of the world’s most important liquefied natural gas hubs. The attack caused extensive damage, including fires across multiple LNG installations and severe damage to the Pearl GTL plant — the world’s largest gas-to-liquids facility.

Brent crude jumped 8.1% to $116.12 per barrel following the strikes. Dutch TTF natural gas futures surged 26.1% to €69.1 per megawatt-hour. Oil prices overall have risen roughly 50% since the conflict began.

Dutch TTF Natural Gas Calendar (TTF=F)

State-run QatarEnergy confirmed the scale of the destruction. Buyers scrambled for uncontracted LNG cargoes almost immediately, pushing prices even higher.

Ras Laffan supplies LNG to Europe and major Asian economies including Japan, South Korea, India, and China. Europe is already running on tight gas inventories after a cold winter and still relies heavily on Qatari supplies to replace Russian pipeline gas.

Unlike oil, global LNG markets have no strategic reserves to fall back on. That structural gap is making price swings sharper and faster.

The strikes did not stop there. Saudi Arabia reported drone and missile attacks on refining infrastructure in Yanbu and Riyadh. Kuwait confirmed a drone hit on its Mina Abdullah refinery that sparked a fire, later contained.

Trump Warns of Total South Pars Destruction

President Donald Trump said the US had no involvement in Israel’s earlier strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field. He posted on Truth Social that Israel would make no further attacks on the field — unless Iran escalated.

Trump warned that any additional Iranian strikes on Qatar’s LNG facilities would lead the US to “massively blow up the entirety” of the South Pars field. Oil pared gains and stock index futures rose after his comments.

Trump also waived a century-old US shipping rule to lower the cost of moving energy goods domestically. Vice President JD Vance planned to meet with oil executives Thursday.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure would “yield nothing” and warned of consequences that could “engulf the entire world.”

Iraq reported power outages after Iran cut off gas supplies to the country.

Markets React as War Enters 19th Day

The war has now choked off the Strait of Hormuz to most shipping for 19 days. US gas prices hit $3.84 per gallon Wednesday — the highest in over two years.

Iran also struck Tel Aviv, killing two people. Israeli warplanes hit targets in northern Iran for the first time. The war’s death toll has passed 4,000.

Foreign ministers from 12 countries condemned attacks on energy infrastructure and called on Iran to halt further strikes.

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