Infrastructure de gaz naturel liquéfié du Qatar à nouveau attaquée, la crise gazière du Golfe s'aggrave

Qatar Energy reports that early Thursday, its liquefied natural gas infrastructure was again attacked. The company stated on X platform, “Multiple liquefied natural gas facilities were hit by missiles, causing fires and extensive further damage.”

The company also said that emergency response teams are on-site controlling the damage.

Earlier, after Israel launched missiles at Iran’s South Pars gas field infrastructure, Iran retaliated against Qatar and other neighboring countries. This is the latest escalation. The South Pars gas field, shared by Iran and Qatar, is the world’s largest natural gas field.

The confrontation on Wednesday prompted President Trump to warn Iran not to further retaliate, stating that Israel has “struck hard,” but if Iran remains passive, Israel will not launch further attacks.

Saudi Arabia was one of the legitimate targets announced by Iran on Wednesday, and the country also issued its own warning of possible retaliation. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan told the media, “Iran’s pressure will backfire politically and morally. Of course, we believe it is necessary to reserve the right to take military action if needed.”

Following the news on Wednesday, natural gas prices rose and may continue to climb after the latest attack. The European TTF benchmark price increased by 6% on Wednesday, approaching €55 per megawatt-hour. US natural gas prices are at $3.164 per million British thermal units, up over 3%.

Earlier this month, after Iran attacked natural gas infrastructure, Qatar Energy announced that its liquefied natural gas exports faced force majeure. This declaration effectively took one-fifth of global LNG capacity offline, tightening the market. Analysts previously expected that with the launch of new US plants later this year, the market would shift to surplus.

The latest developments in the natural gas market are especially bad news for European countries. Most of these countries rely on imports for natural gas and are currently facing depleted inventories, needing to purchase significantly more gas than last year to replenish stocks.