Vantor satellite image shows firefighting efforts and damage assessment at Ras Tanura oil refinery in Saudi Arabia following a fire incident in early March 2026. Maxar/Satellite image (c) 2026 Vantor via Getty.
New drone strikes hit a major oil refinery in Bahrain on Thursday. Bahrain’s official news agency says the missile strikes were fired by Iran. Recent conflicts in the Middle East often spared energy infrastructure or limited damage to individual countries. That has not been the case in this war with Iran.
In less than a week, strikes have hit energy infrastructure in at least six countries. Refineries in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been struck, according to those governments. Qatar’s Ras Laffan liquified natural gas (LNG) export facility — the largest in the world — was also attacked. While many countries blame Iran for the strikes on energy facilities, Iran has accused Israel of hitting a Saudi refinery.
“I do not think there’s precedent for this kind of regionwide conflict with facilities coming under attack from all kinds of methods, over a wide area, and all types of facilities at basically the same time,” says Robin Mills, chief executive of Dubai-based Qamar Energy.
About a fifth of global LNG comes from Qatar. LNG is natural gas cooled to about −260°F so it can be shipped and used for electricity, heating and petrochemicals. State-owned QatarEnergy shut down production after strikes on Ras Laffan and declared force majeure, a legal relief from contractual obligations. Like most Gulf energy companies, QatarEnergy cannot move cargoes through the Strait of Hormuz. Antoine Halff, chief analyst at Kayrros, says buyers in Asia and Europe may not receive that Qatari LNG for weeks or longer. Israel has also halted some offshore gas production.
The world is oversupplied with oil right now, but not with natural gas and LNG, says Gerry Kepes, president of Competitive Energy Strategies. Northern Hemisphere winter is ending and European gas storage remains low. “This may be the first time in history that the shutdown of LNG from the Gulf will have a more pervasive and negative impact than a cessation of crude oil exports,” Kepes says. Simon Flowers, chairman and chief analyst at Wood Mackenzie, warned the consequences for gas and LNG could rival those from Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Since the war began, natural gas prices in Europe have risen more than 60%, and prices in Asia have climbed over 40%. Some LNG producers outside the Gulf — in Australia, Malaysia and the U.S. — could reroute cargoes to help buyers in Asia and Europe. The U.S. is now the largest LNG exporter, with new Gulf Coast facilities coming online this year and next. Still, Mills notes LNG producers generally run plants near full capacity and do not maintain spare output that could quickly replace lost Gulf supplies.
Market reactions have already shown winners: Australian producers Woodside and Santos saw stock gains in the week after the war began, and U.S. exporters Cheniere and Venture Global also rose. But rerouting and added U.S. capacity will take time, and the near-term disruption to Gulf LNG — coupled with limited spare global LNG capacity — creates uncertainty and potential strain for gas markets worldwide.