EU GAS PRICES JUMP AS IRAN STRIKES GULF ENERGY FACILITIES
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AFP
European gas prices soared as much as 30 per cent on Monday as the Middle East war roiled energy markets and spurred fears of prolonged supply disruptions.
The Dutch TTF natural gas contract, considered the European benchmark, jumped to 69.50 euros, before paring gains slightly.
Despite the surge, the price remained below the level it reached in 2022 at the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
This is as Iran launched fresh strikes on energy installations in the Gulf on Monday, including a petroleum complex in Bahrain.
Oil prices also soared on fears over supply disruptions due to the Middle East war.
Bahrain’s sprawling Al Ma’ameer oil facility was hit, causing a fire and damage, with the country’s state-owned energy firm Bapco declaring force majeure — the latest Gulf producer to activate the legal clause.
Energy producers in Qatar and Kuwait earlier made similar declarations.
Bapco said it “hereby serves notice of force majeure on its group operations which have been affected by the ongoing regional conflict in the Middle East and the recent attack on its refinery complex”, according to a statement posted by the company.
Asian stock markets plunged on Monday as oil prices soared, with investors running for the hills as crude rocketed to its highest level since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The market instability came as Iran continued to target the Gulf with missile and drone barrages, hours after Washington ordered embassy staff to leave Saudi Arabia.
The State Department said in a travel advisory it had “ordered non-emergency US government employees and US government employee family members to leave Saudi Arabia due to safety risks”.
Drones hit the US embassy in the Saudi capital Riyadh last week, and drones have also caused damage at the US diplomatic missions in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
On Monday, Bahrain said another Iranian drone attack on the island of Sitra had injured 32 people overnight.
All of the wounded were Bahraini citizens, and there were four “serious cases”, including children, the health ministry said in a statement carried by the state news agency.
They included a 17-year-old girl who suffered severe head and eye injuries, and a two-month-old baby, according to the ministry.
Bahrain said the attack on its Al Ma’ameer oil facility had caused a fire, but the blaze had been brought under control.
Several explosions were also heard Monday in the Qatari capital Doha, AFP journalists said, as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait all reported new attacks.
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