By James Heider

Writer/Reporter

On Wednesday, March 18th, Israel struck Iran’s South Pars gas field. The South Pars Gas Field is the largest natural gas reserve in the entire world, jointly shared by Iran and Qatar, and accounts for around 70% of Iran’s energy, and is nestled in the Persian Gulf. Iran retaliated by striking Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City, one of the region’s largest supplier of LNG, or liquified natural gas. According to Reuters, the Iranian attack erased about 17% of Qatar’s LNG, with officials stating it will take around five years to recuperate these losses. It’s estimated this attack wiped out 3% of the global LNG supply. Ras Laffan is Qatar’s largest LNG field, and is the chief export for the gulf country, and the largest exporter of liquified natural gas in the world. LNG is natural gas converted to liquid by cooling it down to -260 degrees Fahrenheit. Mainly composed of methane, LNG is used for:

●      Generating power like turbines

●      Raw material in fertilizers, plastics, and other chemicals

●      Heating residential and commercial buildings

●      Fuel for Cargo ships, tankers, and heavy-duty trucks

Trump, on his truth social platform, claims that neither he – nor anybody in his administration – had prior knowledge of this attack on South Pars, but Israel state media says otherwise as they claim it was a coordinated effort between themselves and the U.S. Qatar is arguably the most important ally for America that’s located in the Middle East besides Israel. There are multiple American military bases located in Qatar, and they share an economic partnership with $11 billion worth of goods traded between the countries in 2024.

As a result, European gas prices rose 35% overnight due to the attack on Qatar’s LNG plant. It will be something to monitor for the future as Gulf countries are calling for peace talks, along with European countries who do not approve of Israeli and U.S. joint attacks in the region.