World on brink of gas crisis due to war in the Middle East – media

The world is approaching a large-scale gas crisis due to the shutdown of key facilities in Qatar and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

This is reported by Bloomberg.

The shutdown of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas plant, Ras Laffan, was halted after Iranian drone attacks. This is the first such interruption in three decades.

The latest strikes have knocked out about 17% of Qatar’s export capacity, and recovery could take years.

Analysts warn that every week of downtime means the loss of enough energy to power a large city for a year.

The situation is worsened by the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for the supply of energy from the Persian Gulf.

Against this background, gas and fuel prices are rising rapidly, and Asian countries are already facing deficits and are forced to pay record amounts for imports.

In poorer countries, power outages begin, and industry reduces production.

Experts warn that if the outages last more than a few months, the world will face the largest LNG shortage in decades.

“We are moving towards a gas crisis scenario of apocalyptic proportions,” said MST Marquee analyst Sol Kavonik.

The countries of South and Southeast Asia, which depend on Qatari gas, are at greatest risk.

However, in the event of a protracted crisis, developed economies will also feel the pressure, particularly European countries that are preparing to stockpile for the winter.

Analysts say the shortage could force countries to turn to coal, which would exacerbate environmental risks.

At the same time, alternative suppliers, including the US and Australia, as well as Russia, which is already increasing LNG supplies to China, could benefit.

Earlier it was reported that Iran launched a missile strike on an oil refinery in the Israeli city of Haifa.

Recall, on March 19, Iran attacked one of the key oil refineries in Saudi Arabia.