Iran unleashes fiery revenge on Gulf oil hubs after Israel blasts key gas field
Iran intensified its attacks on its Gulf Arab neighbors’ energy infrastructure Thursday, setting Qatari liquefied natural gas facilities and two Kuwaiti oil refineries ablaze as it hit back following an Israeli attack on its main natural gas field, a major escalation in the Middle East war that has sent global fuel prices soaring.A ship burned off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and another was damaged off of Qatar, underscoring the ever-present danger facing vessels due to Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz.Qatar, a key source of natural gas for world markets, said firefighters put out a blaze at a major LNG facility after it was hit by Iranian missile attacks.Production had already been halted there after earlier attacks but it said the latest wave of missiles caused “sizeable fires and extensive further damage.”Damage to the facility could delay Qatar in getting its supplies to the market even after the Iran war ends.A drone attack on Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery sparked a fire but caused no injuries, the state-run KUNA news agency reported.
The refinery is one of the biggest in the Middle East, with a petroleum production capacity of 730,000 barrels per day.Shortly after, a drone attack set ablaze the nearby Mina Abdullah refinery, authorities said.Authorities in Abu Dhabi said they were forced to shut down operations at its Habshan gas facility and Bab field, calling Iranian overnight attacks on the sites a “dangerous escalation.”Missile alert sirens sounded in multiple other areas around the Gulf, and Israel warned of incoming Iranian fire.Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all denounced the Iranian attacks, with Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat saying assaults on the kingdom meant “what little trust there was before has completely been shattered.”In morning trading, Brent crude oil, the international standard, was above $110 a barrel, up more than 50% since Israel and the United States started the war Feb....