The fire of war smoldering in West Asia is now ready to scorch the entire world. The ongoing conflict between Israel, America and Iran has now taken such a dangerous turn that it is going to have a direct impact on everything from cooking gas to household electricity bills. Recently, Israel had targeted three senior officials including Ali Larijani, who prepared Iran’s war policy. Angered by this move, Iran retaliated very aggressively and launched massive attacks in 9 Arab countries. This time, Iran’s target has not been any military base, but directly energy fields. The most important name among these is ‘Ras Laffan Industrial City’ of Qatar. The attack on this one city has disrupted the entire world’s energy supply chain.
Big blow to global economy
This step of Iran is a big blow to the global economy. Qatar’s ‘Ras Laffan’ is not just an industrial area, but the beating heart of global energy supply. Targeting energy plants simply means stopping the supply of essential fuels around the world. There are reports of damage caused by missile attacks and it may take months to completely repair any damage caused to complex infrastructure like gas processing.
‘Ras Lafan’ is important for the whole world
It is very important to understand why this city is considered the backbone of global energy security. Ras Laffan is the world’s largest LNG export terminal. This single city contributes 20 percent to the total LNG supply of the entire world. Here natural gas coming from the world’s largest gas reserve ‘North Field’ is processed. Its current capacity is 77 million tonnes per annum, which is expected to exceed 126 MTPA in future. The matter is not limited to gas only. More than 12 million tonnes of LPG is exported from here. Apart from this, daily processing of 2.9 lakh barrels of condensate, production of 2730 MW electricity, huge water purification plants and about 25 percent of the world’s helium is also produced here.
Will Europe look towards Russia again?
Experts believe that if production here remains disrupted for a long time, it will turn into a ‘structural supply shock’ and not just a temporary crisis. Blockage at Ras Laffan means huge shortage of gas in the countries of Asia and Europe. Gas prices will start skyrocketing in the international market, which is already struggling with the stress of war. Its effect may also be that to avoid the energy crisis, European countries will once again be forced to return to Russian gas, from which they had kept a strict distance since the start of the Ukraine war.
Will difficulties increase for India?
India is largely dependent on LNG imports to meet its energy needs, of which Qatar is a major partner. When international supply decreases, it is obvious that prices will increase wildly. This will have a direct impact on India’s import bill. From the common man’s point of view, expensive gas means a huge increase in the cost of power generation and industries. This may start a new era of inflation in the country. Everything from petroleum products to everyday things can become expensive.
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