On Wednesday, Iran’s oil facilities in South Pars and Asaluyeh were reportedly attacked, prompting evacuation warnings from the Revolutionary Guards for oil sites across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. Following the news, oil prices surged, with Brent crude futures rising over 4% to exceed $108 per barrel.
Analysts caution that these attacks could lead to retaliatory strikes by Iran on Gulf energy infrastructure, particularly targeting oil operations in Qatar. The ongoing conflict has already forced Qatar to halt its liquefied natural gas production, accounting for a significant 20% of global LNG supplies. Any further damage to facilities could prolong this outage beyond May.
Tasnim indicated that the attacks specifically targeted petrochemical facilities in South Pars, although the extent of the damage remains unclear. This gas field is critical, supplying about one-third of the world’s largest natural gas reservoir, which Iran shares with Qatar. Due to sanctions and technical challenges, most of Iran’s gas production is used domestically, with 94% of the 276 billion cubic meters produced in 2024 consumed within the country.
The ongoing U.S.-Israeli tensions and Iran’s actions against Gulf neighbors have disrupted oil and natural gas exports from the region, leading to production halts.
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