Stocks tumble as attacks by Israel, Iran on critical energy infrastructure exacerbate fears for global energy supplies.
Published On 19 Mar 2026
Asian stock markets have fallen sharply after attacks on natural gas facilities in Qatar, Iran and the United Arab Emirates spelled new turmoil for global energy supplies.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s KOSPI tumbled nearly 3 percent early 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 top $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 between 80 and 90 percent of their energy needs. In 2024, they also ranked as the second- and third-biggest importers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), taking 68 million tonnes and 47 million tonnes, respectively, according to the International Gas Union.
Qatar accounted for 77.2 million tonnes of supply that year, making it the world’s third-largest exporter of LNG after the United States and Australia, according to the industry group.
The losses on Asia’s markets followed substantial declines in US stocks overnight amid growing inflation fears in the world’s largest economy.
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 fell about 1.4 percent, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropping nearly 1.5 percent.
Jason Feer, global head of business intelligence at Poten & Partners, called the attacks on energy facilities a “major escalation” in the regional conflict.
“The disruption of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has had a major impact on energy markets, to be sure,” Feer told Al Jazeera.
“But damage to energy installations has been quite light so far. Damage from attacks on oil and gas production and processing facilities could take a long time to repair, ensuring that supplies are disrupted into the future even if the shooting were to stop,” he said.
‘Significant damage’
Qatar said on Wednesday that its main LNG export facility at Ras Laffan Industrial City, the biggest plant of its kind worldwide, suffered “significant damage” following Iranian missile attacks.
QatarEnergy, the state-run energy company, said in a later statement that several other LNG facilities were also attacked, “causing sizeable fires and extensive further damage”.
In a Truth Social post late on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump warned Iran against any further attacks against Qatar, threatening to “massively blow up the entirety” of the South Pars gasfield if Tehran struck Qatar’s energy facilities again.
The UAE said it suspended operations of the Habshan gas facility and the Bab oilfield due to falling debris after its forces successfully intercepted Iranian missile attacks.
Saudi Arabia said it had also intercepted an attempted drone strike on a gas facility in the kingdom’s eastern region, as well as missile attacks on the capital Riyadh.
Iran’s attacks across the Gulf came after Tehran pledged to retaliate for strikes by Israel on its South Pars gasfield, the world’s largest.
The attacks on critical energy infrastructure across the Middle East have heaped further pressure on energy prices as maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has collapsed amid the threat of Iranian attacks.
Only a handful of ships, mostly Indian, Pakistani and Chinese-flagged vessels, have transited the waterway each day since the war began 20 days ago.
Oil prices have risen more than 50 percent as a result of the conflict, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
