Qatar said Wednesday that Iranian missiles caused “severe damage” to the industrial city of Ras Laffan, home to the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility.
Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack as a “dangerous escalation, a blatant violation of national sovereignty and a direct threat to national security and regional stability.”
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Qatar reserves the right to respond in accordance with its right of self-defense guaranteed under international law.
brent crude oil The international benchmark price rose more than 7% to $111.23 by 4:52 p.m. ET.
US West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil It rose about 4% to $100.04.
Qatar Energy’s liquefied natural gas production facility in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar, March 2, 2026, amid the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict.
Stringer | Reuters
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had threatened to attack energy facilities in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates after Israel bombed an Iranian natural gas processing facility.
Emergency teams were called in to extinguish the fire in Ras Laffan, state-run Qatar Energy said in a social media post. No casualties were reported. Qatar’s Interior Ministry later announced that the fire at the facility was initially extinguished.
Qatar halted LNG production on March 2 due to Iranian drone attacks in Ras Laffan and Mesaieed Industrial City. The Gulf state is the world’s second-largest LNG exporter, behind the US and Qatar, which accounts for nearly 20% of global LNG exports, according to data from energy consulting firm Kpler.
Attacks on oil and gas infrastructure in the Middle East are escalating, threatening to intensify the massive energy supply disruption sparked by the Iran war.
Oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has sharply decreased due to Iranian attacks on commercial ships. This strait is the most important trade choke point for oil, and before the war, about 20% of the world’s supply passed through this strait.
Citigroup analysts told clients in a report on Wednesday that Brent prices could average $130 in the second and third quarters if there is a widespread attack on energy infrastructure and a prolonged closure of the Strait.
