Gas prices in Europe surged 26% to €68 per megawatt-hour on Thursday after key gas fields in the Middle East were struck, heightening supply concerns.
At the Netherlands-based Title Transfer Facility (TTF), Europe's deepest virtual natural gas trading hub, April futures closed at €54.66 per megawatt-hour on Wednesday. Following attacks targeting gas fields in Iran and Qatar, contracts opened today at €72 per megawatt-hour.
As of 0731 GMT, the price of one megawatt-hour of gas at TTF stood at €68.
In a US-Israel strike, Iran's South Pars Gas Field was hit by unmanned aerial vehicles, while Qatar's liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facility at Ras Laffan was targeted by Iran.
Iran's South Pars Gas Field, with an estimated capacity of 50 trillion cubic meters, is among the world's largest gas reserves and accounts for approximately 70% of the country's gas production. Qatar's Ras Laffan facility, meanwhile, produces around 20% of global LNG supply.
Qatar's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday that Israel's targeting of facilities linked to the South Pars Gas Field—shared by Iran and Qatar—was a "dangerous and irresponsible step."
US President Donald Trump also said on social media that Israel would refrain from further strikes on the South Pars field unless Iran attacked Qatar, warning that if Qatar's LNG infrastructure were targeted again, the US would "destroy the entirety" of the South Pars gas field.
Reporting by Fuat Kabakci
Writing by Humeyra Ayaz
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr
