QatarEnergy stops LNG production as Gulf crisis escalates

Business Desk :

QatarEnergy has stopped LNG production following attacks on critical energy infrastructure on the Gulf state and Saudi Arabia.
QatarEnergy said it had halted LNG production and associated products – which will impact the global helium market – and it will continue to communicate the “latest available information”.
Earlier Qatar Ministry of Defence said drones had hit an energy facility in Ras Laffan Industrial City belonging to QatarEnergy, and a power plant in Mesaieed, reports gasworld.
Ras Laffan houses the world’s largest LNG export facility, the largest artificial harbour, and extensive infrastructure for LNG, gas-to-liquid, petrochemicals, refineries, and a power/water desalination plant.
Saudi Arabia shut its biggest domestic Ras Tanura oil refinery on Monday after a drone strike, as Israeli and US strikes and Iranian retaliation triggered precautionary shutdowns of oil and gas facilities across the Middle East.
The recent attacks on Iran by the US and Israel are likely to disrupt the flow of helium from Qatar to European and Asian markets due to the full or partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran, says global helium market specialist Phil Kornbluth.
Disruptions to LNG flows through the Strait of Hormuz will likely reignite competition between Asia and Europe for available cargoes, according to research consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
Iran has claimed attacks on its nuclear sites but the International Atomic Energy Agency said it had no indication that any of the nuclear installations, including the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, the Tehran Research Reactor or other nuclear fuel cycle facilities have been damaged or hit.
The Middle East Council on Global Affairs said Iran’s leadership failed to seize the opportunity to reach an agreement with the US while the window for negotiations was still open – a step that could have spared the region further tension and instability.
The second mistake, according to the council, was targeting Gulf states, which had been trying to act as mediators and put forward initiatives aimed at de-escalating the crisis and preventing a slide into a broader military confrontation.
“By targeting not only military installations but civilian infrastructure and economic arteries, Iran has jeopardised the residual goodwill that made quiet crisis management possible,” it states.
“These attacks have posed a serious challenge to the foundations of diplomatic relations in the Middle East.”