Oil and gas prices rise after gas field strike Oil prices surged to nearly $110 a barrel after Iranian media reported an airstrike targeting a facility on the world's largest natural gas field, the South Pars gas field. The Brent crude oil benchmark reached $109.91 a barrel shortly after 14:30 GMT, marking a more than 5% increase from Tuesday’s levels. It remained above $108, though still below the peak of $116.78 seen on 9 March. The UK gas price also climbed by 6% to 143.53p a therm before retreating below the 140p mark. The price spike followed reports that Iran’s petrochemical complex on the South Pars field had been hit. Hours later, Qatar confirmed "extensive damage" at its Ras Laffan industrial site, which hosts facilities on the same field. While oil and gas prices rose sharply, they remained below earlier highs amid the conflict. Iran’s oil ministry stated that a fire at the petrochemical complex was under control, according to Tasnim, a news agency linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran’s military warned of "decisive action" in response to the strike, vowing to retaliate against the "American-Zionist enemy" if its energy infrastructure is attacked. The military emphasized that targeting such infrastructure would be "legitimate" and that it would strike the "origin of that aggression" swiftly. Qatar, which operates facilities on the gas field under the name North Dome, had previously halted production in March due to the conflict. Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman, Majed Al Ansari, called strikes on energy infrastructure a "threat to global energy security." Shortly after 1815 GMT, Qatar’s interior minister announced a fire at Ras Laffan following an Iranian attack.#iran #qatar #qatarenergy #south_pars_gas_field #ras_laffan
