Iran retaliates against Gulf energy infrastructure after Israeli strike on its gas installations

Iranian aerial attacks since Wednesday have caused extensive damage to the world's largest gas plant in Qatar, targeted a refinery in Saudi Arabia, forced the UAE to shut gas facilities and set off fires at two Kuwaiti refineries.

Tehran's retaliation against Israeli attacks on its own gas facilities marks a further escalation of the nearly three-week war.

On Thursday, a drone fell on the Aramco-Exxon refinery, SAMREF, the Saudi defence ministry said, adding damage was being assessed. It also intercepted a ballistic missile launched towards Yanbu, the port city that is currently Saudi Arabia's only outlet for crude exports and where the refinery is located.  

Also on Thursday, one of the operational units at Kuwait Petroleum Corporation's Mina al-Ahmadi and Mina Abdullah refineries was targeted by drones, resulting in fires at both sites, Kuwait's state news agency said. 

Qatar's state oil giant QatarEnergy said on Wednesday that Iranian missile attacks on Ras Laffan, the site of the country's core LNG processing operations, caused "extensive damage", while the UAE shut gas facilities after intercepting missiles early on Thursday.

The Iranian attacks, which drew a furious response from U.S. President Donald Trump, came hours after Tehran issued evacuation warnings for several oil facilities across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, following strikes on its own energy infrastructure in South Pars and Asaluyeh.

MAJOR LNG OPERATIONS DISRUPTED IN QATAR

QatarEnergy, the world's second-largest LNG exporter, said in a statement that its emergency response team was deployed immediately to contain fires caused by the attack. By early Thursday, all fires at Ras Laffan had been brought under control, with no injuries reported, Qatar's interior ministry said.

Ras Laffan, located 80 km (50 miles) north of Doha, is an energy-industry hub and hosts several international companies including Shell, the world's biggest LNG trader.

"We are currently assessing any potential impact on any asset operated or utilised by Shell in Ras Laffan Industrial City and will provide further information in due course," a Shell spokesperson said.

The energy major has a 30% stake in a 7.8 million-metric-tons-a-year LNG facility and investments in yet-to-produce LNG plants at Ras Laffan. It also fully owns the Pearl gas-to-liquids plant in the hub, with capacity to process up to 1.6 billion cubic feet per day of wellhead gas.

QatarEnergy said the Pearl gas-to-liquids facility had suffered extensive damage. Several LNG facilities were hit by missile attacks in the early hours of Thursday, causing "sizeable fires" and further damage, it said.

Shell later said the Pearl GTL facility had sustained damage, saying a fire was quickly put out and it was now in a safe state and that damage was being assessed in close coordination with authorities and QatarEnergy.  

TRUMP THREATENS RESPONSE

Qatar produces 77 million metric tons annually of LNG, which is used in power generation and industries. The Laffan refinery primarily processes condensate into refined products including aviation fuel. 

In a statement on social media, Trump warned Iran not to attack Qatari LNG facilities again and threatened to "massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field" if it did so. He said Israel had attacked South Pars without informing Qatar or the United States. 

Qatar's foreign ministry told Iran's security and military attaches to leave the country within 24 hours and declared them "persona non grata". 

In a statement, the ministry condemned the attack on Ras Laffan as a "direct threat" to Qatar's national security and accused Iran of taking an "irresponsible approach."

Saul Kavonic, head of research at Australia's MST Marquee, said attacks on Ras Laffan "could cause a lasting global gas shortage, but this won't pressure the Trump administration because the U.S. benefits economically from high global gas prices".

GAS FACILITIES SHUT DOWN IN UAE

In the UAE, authorities said they were responding to incidents at the Habshan gas facilities and at the Bab oil field caused by falling debris from intercepted missiles.

The gas facilities were shut down and no injuries were reported, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said.

The Habshan complex, operated by Abu Dhabi state oil giant ADNOC, is one of the world's largest gas processing facilities, comprising five plants with a total capacity of 6.1 billion standard cubic feet per day (bscfd), according to ADNOC.