Fears for global energy supply have increased due to attacks by Israel, Iran on critical energy infrastructure, causing stocks to fall.
Published on 19 March 2026
Asian stock markets fell sharply in fresh turmoil for global energy supplies following attacks on natural gas facilities in Qatar, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s KOSPI fell about 3 percent on Thursday morning, as the attacks rattled markets already reeling from the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the continued blocking of oil and gas exports from the Gulf region.
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Futures for Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil prices, rose more than 4 percent to $112 a barrel, the highest in more than a week.
Japan and South Korea, Asia’s third and fifth largest economies respectively, depend on imported fossil fuels to meet 80 to 90 percent of their energy needs. According to the International Gas Union, in 2024, they ranked as the second and third largest importers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), taking in 68 million tonnes and 47 million tonnes, respectively.
According to the industry group, Qatar supplied 77.2 million tonnes that year, making it the world’s third-largest LNG exporter after the United States and Australia.
Markets in Asia fell after US stocks fell sharply overnight amid fears of rising inflation in the world’s largest economy.
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 fell about 1.4 percent, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite falling about 1.5 percent.
Jason Fears, global head of business intelligence at Potten & Partners, called the attacks on energy facilities a “major escalation” in the regional conflict.
“The disruption to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has certainly had a major impact on energy markets,” Feier told Al Jazeera.
“But there has been very little damage to energy installations so far. The damage caused by attacks on oil and gas production and processing facilities could take a long time to repair, which will ensure future supply disruptions even if the firing stops,” he said.
‘Significant damage’
Qatar said on Wednesday that its main LNG export facility in the Ras Laffan industrial city, the largest of its kind worldwide, suffered “significant damage” after Iranian missile attacks.
State energy company QatarEnergy later said in a statement that several other LNG facilities were also attacked, causing large fires and widespread damage.
In a Truth Social post late Wednesday, US President Donald Trump warned Iran against any further attacks against Qatar, and threatened to “massively blow up” the South Pars gasfield if Tehran attacked Qatar’s energy facilities again.
The UAE said it suspended operations at the Habshan gas facility and the Bab oil field due to falling debris after its forces successfully intercepted Iranian missile attacks.
Saudi Arabia said it had prevented an attempted drone attack on a gas facility in the kingdom’s eastern region, as well as a missile attack on the capital Riyadh.
Iran’s attacks in the Gulf came as Tehran promised to respond to Israeli attacks on its South Pars gasfield, the world’s largest.
Attacks on critical energy infrastructure across the Middle East have put further pressure on energy prices as maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has collapsed amid the threat of Iranian attacks.
Only a few ships, mostly Indian, Pakistani and Chinese flagged ships, are passing through the waterway every day since the war began 20 days ago.
Oil prices have risen more than 50 percent as a result of the conflict that began with US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28.
