QatarEnergy reported that its liquefied natural gas infrastructure was attacked again in the early hours of Thursday. The company stated on platform X that "multiple LNG facilities were hit by missile strikes, triggering large fires and causing extensive further damage."
The company added that emergency response teams were on-site working to contain the damage.
This latest escalation follows retaliatory strikes by Iran against Qatar and other neighbors, which came after Israel launched missiles at gas processing infrastructure at Iran's South Pars gas field. The South Pars field, which Iran shares with Qatar, is the world's largest natural gas field.
Wednesday's exchange prompted a warning from former President Trump to Iran against further retaliation, stating that Israel had already "struck hard" but would not launch another attack if Iran refrained from action.
Saudi Arabia, one of the targets named by Iran on Wednesday for legitimate retaliation, also issued its own warning regarding potential reprisals. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told media, "This pressure from Iran will backfire politically and morally. Of course, we reserve the right to take military action if we deem it necessary."
Natural gas prices rose on Wednesday's news and are likely to climb further following today's latest attack. Europe's TTF benchmark price increased by 6% on Wednesday, nearing €55 per megawatt-hour. The U.S. natural gas price rose over 3% to $3.164 per million British thermal units.
Earlier this month, following an attack on gas infrastructure by Iran, QatarEnergy declared force majeure on its LNG exports. This declaration effectively took one-fifth of global LNG production capacity offline, tightening the market. Analysts had previously expected the market to shift into a surplus later this year as new U.S. facilities come online.
The latest developments in the natural gas market are particularly bad news for European nations. These countries, which are largely dependent on imported gas, are currently facing depleted storage levels and need to purchase significantly more gas than last year to replenish inventories.
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