QatarEnergy says it has halted production of liquefied natural gas. This is after attacks on Ras Laffan and Mesaieed sites.
Gas prices surged on Monday, 2 March ’26, while crude oil climbed sharply due to the escalation of the US-Israel war on Iran. This caused major disruption to production and supplies.
The state-owned energy company, QatarEnergy, said it had halted production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) after attacks on facilities in Ras Laffan, besides Masaieed.
A drone attacked its energy facility in Ras Laffan, according to a statement from Qatar’s Defence ministry. There were no reports of human casualties, the statement added.
QatarEnergy is one of the largest global producers of LNG. The company said in a statement on social media that it values its relationships with all its stakeholders and will continue to communicate the latest available information.
On Monday, 2 March, the Dutch day-ahead gas contract – the European benchmark – climbed 41% to USD 52.2 (€45) per megawatt hour (MWh) from a previous USD 37.2 (€32) on Friday, 27 February ’26. The day-ahead contract for gas in the UK rose sharply by 40% at 110p a therm.
The shutdown at the world’s largest export facility could result in the loss of almost 20% of the global LNG supply. This comes at a time when the market is still feeling the effect of the energy crisis from 4 years back, in 2022.
Qatar supplied about 6.5% of UK LNG imports over the past year. According to energy analyst Cornwall Insight, the shutdown threatens to push more heavily exposed Asian buyers into competition with Europe. Such an event would ramp up prices across the market.
The head of energy at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, Jess Ralston, said that the price spike is a worrying indication that bills for both homes & businesses could rise again in the UK.
The turmoil in the Middle East led to a sharp rise in oil prices. Brent crude surged by as much as 13% during early trading. It hit USD 82 a barrel, which is a 14-month high. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz intensified concerns over crude oil supplies, being one of the most important arteries for global trade.
Crude oil later fell back slightly from its initial highs. However, Brent remained up by nearly 6% at USD 77 a barrel on Monday, 2 March.
Stock markets took a plunge across Europe. London’s FTSE 100 was down 1.2% at 10,780 points. IAG, the parent company of British Airways and easyJet, was amongst the worst performers. This decline was due to thousands of flights being cancelled. Their values were down 6% and 4%, respectively.
However, the rise in the crude oil price pushed up shares in both the BP and Shell oil companies by about 3%. Shares in weapons manufacturer BAE Systems climbed by 5% as investors piled into defence stocks.
Other European stock markets fell on Monday, 2 March. The German DAX index was down by 2.4%. The French CAC 40 index was down by 2.2%. The Italian FTSE MIB was down 2%. The Spanish Ibex was 2.6%. Wall Street also opened lower.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell by nearly 2.4%. This was as traders in Asia responded to the weekend’s developments. However, the Nikkei 225 later pulled back to trade down 1.4%..
In Sydney, the ASX 200 opened down sharply. It recovered and finished the day flat. China’s Shenzhen Composite also fell 0.7%.
Gold, often deemed a safe haven asset by investors during crisis times, rose 2.5% to USD 5,408 an ounce.
Military strikes by the U.S. and Israel on Iran showed no sign of reducing as Donald Trump suggested that the conflict may last for 4 more weeks, adding that attacks may continue until America’s objectives are met.
