Oil prices leapt to nearly $110 a barrel after Iranian media reported an airstrike hitting a facility on the world’s largest natural gas field.<\/p>\n
The Brent crude oil benchmark hit $109.91 a barrel just after 14:30GMT, more than 5% higher than Tuesday’s prices. It remains above $108.<\/p>\n
The surge followed a report from Tasnim, a news agency affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), that Iran’s petrochemical complex on the South Pars gas field had been hit.<\/p>\n
The benchmark UK gas price also jumped by 6% to 143.53p a therm before falling back below the 140p mark.<\/p>\n
While the price of both oil and gas spiked, they remained below highs seen earlier in the conflict.<\/p>\n
Oil reached $116.78 a barrel on 9 March, while UK gas reached 162.55p a therm on 3 March.<\/p>\n
Iran’s oil ministry said a fire at the petrochemical complex was under control on Wednesday afternoon, Tasnim reported, but the extent of the damage to the facility remained unclear.<\/p>\n
Iran’s military warned it would take “decisive action” in response to the strike on its energy infrastructure.<\/p>\n
“As previously warned, if the fuel, energy, gas, and economic infrastructures of our country are attacked by the American-Zionist enemy, in addition to a powerful counterattack against the enemy, we will severely strike the origin of that aggression as well,” the military said in a statement published by Tasnim.<\/p>\n
“We consider targeting the fuel, energy, and gas infrastructures of the countries of origin legitimate and will retaliate strongly at the earliest opportunity.”<\/p>\n
Iran has also suspended the flow of gas to Iraq in response to the attack to shore up domestic supplies, a senior Iraqi official told Reuters.<\/p>\n
The vast majority of Iran’s gas supply – 94% – is used domestically, according to data from the Gas Exporting Countries Forum.<\/p>\n
However, Qatar also operates facilities on the gas field, which it calls North Dome.<\/p>\n
Qatar, which produces a fifth of the world’s liquefied natural gas, had halted production earlier in March in response to the conflict.<\/p>\n
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said strikes against energy infrastructure “constitutes a threat to global energy security”.<\/p>\n