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Iran Lists Gulf Energy Targets
Oil, Gas Prices Surge on Threats to Refining, Petrochemical and Natural Gas Assets
Oil and European natural gas prices surged as Iran listed energy assets across the region that it could target in response to a U.S. and Israeli attack on its upstream industry, threatening a new wave of supply disruption.
Brent oil climbed as much as 6.3% to a high of $109.95 a barrel on March 18, while Europe’s gas benchmark jumped as much as 9.3%, according to data from ICE Futures Europe.
The war has wrought chaos across the Middle East, choking off the Strait of Hormuz to shipping and slashing a swath of oil and gas production. However, Iran’s upstream energy industry had previously been largely spared until now, helping to contain the prospect of an escalation that could have a bigger impact on supply.
But on March 18, Tehran warned of imminent retaliation against refining, petrochemical and natural gas assets in the region after its own giant South Pars gas field and associated assets were struck. The price increases suggest traders are pricing in a risk of slower resumption to production when the conflict ends, said Tom Marzec-Manser, director for Europe gas and LNG at Wood Mackenzie Ltd.
“The possibility of damage to output has now increased” because of the possibility of retaliation, he said. “Even once the Strait of Hormuz reopens it could take considerably longer for flows to normalize.”
As well as effectively halting Hormuz, the conflict has seen Iran lashing out across the region since the war began at the end of February.
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The result has already been a big reduction in oil production in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq, while Qatar halted liquefied natural gas output at the world’s biggest plant.
Iran’s South Pars gas field is important for supply to the domestic market as well as to neighboring Iraq and Turkey. Associated oil and petrochemical assets were also struck at Asaluyeh.
List of Assets
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said energy sites in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar “have become direct and legitimate targets” following the attack, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
The South Pars attack would mark the first on Iran’s upstream facilities since the war began. While the U.S. struck oil export hub Kharg Island late last week, it limited that attack to military targets.
“New attacks bring the attention back to the physical supply reality of the war — curtailments in energy tighten every day,” said Rabobank’s energy strategist Florence Schmit.
The sites that Iran listed, all of which have at least some kind of U.S. interest, were:
- TheRas Laffanrefinery and theMesaieedpetrochemical complex in Qatar
- The Samrefrefinery and theJubailpetrochemical complex in Saudi Arabia
- TheAl Hosngas asset in the UAE
Saudi Aramco is evacuating the Samref and Jubail facilities as a precautionary step following the issuance of the list by Iran, according to a person familiar with the matter.
A spokesperson for Aramco wasn’t immediately available to comment.
Some other sites identified by Iran were also being evacuated, including the Al Hosn gas asset, and Qatar’s Ras Laffan refinery and Mesaieed petrochemical complex, according to separate people familiar with the matter.
Spokespeople for Adnoc and QatarEnergy didn’t immediately respond
Al Hosn is the former name of the venture operating the UAE’s Shah field. Adnoc had already shut down operations at Shah after the field was attacked by drones, sparking a fire, late March 16.
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South Pars is Iran’s biggest gas field, which reached a record 730 million cubic meters of daily production in 2025, according to the Iranian oil ministry’s official news service, Shana. That’s half of what the whole of Europe was consuming on average last year.
Turkey imports more than 10% of its gas from Iran, and it could need more spot LNG cargoes to replace any lost volumes, which would intensify global competition for the fuel. Iraq said its flows from Iran halted, the country’s news agency reported.
Written byElena Mazneva, Patrick Sykes and Salma El Wardany
