Qatar is a natural gas superpower and it's sounding the alarm after today's attack on Iran's gas field.
Last week, the US appear to rebuke Israel after attacks on Tehran's oil storage facilities but now the US and Israel are striking natural gas facilities and Iran is preparing to respond.
The problem here is that if these facilities in Qatar are destroyed, they will take years to rebuild and there is no replacement in the system. If energy infrastructure in the region is destroyed, there is no hope of a return to low oil prices at any point in the next two years, barring a massive amount of demand destruction.
What I fear is that Trump is going to allow that kind of escalation to punish Europe and other allies for not joining in the fight for Hormuz.
Notable headlines:
Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson: Israel's targeting of facilities linked to Iran's South Pars Gas Field is a dangerous and irresponsible step amid the current military escalation in the region
Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson: targeting energy infrastructure constitutes a threat to global energy security, to the people of the region, and to its environment
Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson: we call on all parties to exercise restraint, adhere to international law, work to de-escalate in a manner that preserves the region's security and stability
Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson: Iran's South Pars Gas Field is an extension of Qatar's North Field
This whole line of thinking is why oil prices are rising and risk assets are slumping.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency lists Gulf energy sites as “legitimate targets,” warning they could be struck soon.
Facilities named: Qatar: Ras Laffan refinery phases 1 & 2, Mesaieed Petrochemical Saudi Arabia: Samref refinery, Jubail petrochemical complex UAE: Al Hosn gas field
My belief is that all these projects are partly owned by US or French interests:
For instance, Samref is a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and ExxonMobil and is a refinery with 400K bpd of capacity. The Al Hosn Gas Plant cost $10 billion and is the first project in the world to produce and process more than 1 billion cubic feet per day of ultra-sour gas from a single plant. Qatar alone is 20% of global LNG exports. The Ras Laffan complex is the big one here and Iran already proved it could hit infrastructure in the area. It includes 14 LNG trains built over 15 years of continuous construction. Other facilities listed here produce 4-5% of global sulfer and 7-8% of ethylene.
