Qatar Halts LNG Output and Saudi Refinery Shuts After Drone Strikes

Qatar stopped producing liquefied natural gas on Monday and Saudi Arabia’s largest domestic refinery shut down after Iranian drones targeted energy sites across the Gulf, pushing wholesale gas and oil prices sharply higher. QatarEnergy said it had halted LNG and associated products because of “military attacks on QatarEnergy’s operating facilities” in Ras Laffan and Mesaieed Industrial Cities, Al Jazeera reported.

Qatar’s Defence Ministry said two drones launched from Iran hit a water tank at a power plant in Mesaieed and an energy facility in Ras Laffan, with no casualties, according to Al Jazeera. Qatar supplies about 20 percent of the world’s LNG, according to Reuters in a story carried by gCaptain. The reporting did not say how long the plants would stay offline.

In Saudi Arabia, the Defence Ministry said two drones “attempted to attack” the Ras Tanura refinery, causing a small fire after interception and “limited damage,” with no casualties, Al Jazeera said. Saudi Arabia shut the 550,000-barrel-a-day plant, its biggest domestic refinery, as a precaution, Reuters reported, and the Energy Ministry said it did not foresee any impact on the supply of petroleum products to local markets.

In Israel, the government ordered Chevron to temporarily shut the Leviathan gas field, part of a $35 billion export deal with Egypt, and Energean shut a production vessel serving smaller fields, Reuters reported. Chevron said its other facilities, including Tamar, were safe.

Markets moved fast. Dutch and British wholesale gas prices rose almost 50 percent shortly after the Qatar announcement, and Asian LNG prices rose almost 39 percent, according to Al Jazeera. The Dutch TTF contract, Europe’s benchmark, was at 39.40 euros per megawatt-hour at 11:31 GMT, up 7.44 euros. Oil rose as much as 13 percent during the day to above $82 a barrel, its highest since January 2025, both outlets reported. Reuters said shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had come to a near halt.

Analysts read the attacks as a turn toward the Gulf’s energy infrastructure. Torbjorn Soltvedt of Verisk Maplecroft called it “a significant escalation” with Gulf energy infrastructure “now squarely in Iran’s sights,” and said it could push Saudi Arabia and its neighbors “closer to joining” U.S. and Israeli operations against Iran, according to Reuters. Rob Geist Pinfold, a defence studies lecturer at King’s College London, told Al Jazeera that Iran “knows exactly what it’s doing” by hitting Gulf states, and that beneath a show of unity the Gulf governments have “profound disagreements” about how to deal with Tehran.

The reporting did not say when either site might restart.