The energy war came to the heart of the Gulf’s petrochemical sector on Wednesday as Iran threatened strikes against refineries and complexes in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar following an Israeli attack on the South Pars gasfield. The Revolutionary Guards named specific facilities and ordered immediate evacuation. Oil prices surged toward $110 a barrel as the petrochemical sector — a pillar of the Gulf economy and global supply chains — faced its most direct military threat yet.
South Pars, the world’s largest natural gas reserve, is shared between Iran and Qatar and central to Iran’s energy economy. The Israeli attack — reportedly with US consent — was the first time Iran’s fossil fuel production had been directly targeted. Both countries had previously avoided this step, but crossing it brought the energy war directly to the heart of the Gulf’s petrochemical industry for the first time.
Iran’s state media identified Saudi Arabia’s Samref refinery and Jubail petrochemical complex, the UAE’s al-Hosn gasfield, and Qatar’s Mesaieed petrochemical complex and Ras Laffan refinery as targets. All workers and residents near these sites were told to evacuate without delay. Asaluyeh governor Eskandar Pasalar called the US-Israeli attack “political suicide” and declared the conflict had entered a full-scale economic war.
Brent crude climbed to $108.60 per barrel — a nearly 5% gain — while European gas prices jumped more than 7.5% to above €55.50 per megawatt hour. Gulf oil exports had already fallen 60% from pre-war levels due to sustained infrastructure damage and Iran’s Strait of Hormuz blockade. Iran had continued to export its own crude through the strait unimpeded while blocking Gulf neighbors’ shipments — a strategic advantage that had shaped the conflict’s economic dimension throughout.
Qatar’s government spokesperson warned that targeting energy infrastructure endangered global energy security and regional populations. The petrochemical sector’s vulnerability to Iran’s threatened strikes extended beyond oil and gas supply to the plastics, fertilizers, and industrial chemicals that depended on Gulf petrochemical output. The energy war had arrived at an industry whose disruption would be felt far beyond the Gulf — and the world’s industries were bracing for the impact.