Israel Escalates, Bombs Essential Iranian Gasoline Area – The Washington Normal

The attack is the most significant against Iran’s strategically vital energy sector.

Earlier today, March 18, Israel conducted a bombing raid on Iran’s South Pars natural-gas condensate field in the Persian Gulf. The gas field, shared by Iran and Qatar, is the largest natural gas field in the world. It holds an estimated 1,800 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and around 50 billion barrels of natural gas condensates. Most of the gas is used domestically by Iran. It is estimated 12 million cubic meters per day of gas output has been affected.

“Footage circulating on local platforms showed large flames engulfing part of the facility, specifically in the fourth phase of the Pars refinery,” the Palestine Chronicle reported. “As a result, around 12 million cubic meters of gas per day from Phase 14 were taken offline until the damaged unit can resume operations.”

Additionally, it is reported other oil and petrochemical facilities in the Assaluyeh area of the southern Bushehr province were bombed. The attack on the Assaluyeh refineries took out approximately one-fifth of Iran’s gas processing capacity.

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News reports indicate Israeli Air Force fighter jets, in coordination with the US military, carried out the strike. Prior to the South Pars attack, Israel hit a key oil facility in Iran on March 14, according to its Ministry of Petroleum. In Tehran, an oil refinery was bombed and set aflame. Iran’s PressTV reported:

The Wednesday attacks and Iran’s planned response are expected to cause a major surge in international energy prices, with analysts warning that they could well exceed $150 a barrel, up nearly three times compared to before the aggression on Iran.

Following the attack, Brent Crude prices spiked 6.3%, up to $109.95 a barrel. In the past month, oil prices have risen an unprecedented 26%. In Europe, following the attack, natural gas prices surged 9.3%, according to data from ICE Futures Europe.

In response to the bombing, the IRGC’s Tasnim News advised its GCC neighbors to evacuate all energy installations in the Gulf region, including: the Al-Hosn gas field in the United Arab Emirates; Ras Laffan refinery in Qatar; Al-Jubail petrochemical complex in Saudi Arabia; Masaiid Holding Company in Saudi Arabia; and the Samref refinery in Saudi Arabia. The IRGC said the sites are now “legitimate targets” and may be hit within hours.

An Iranian military source said Saudi Arabia and the UAE participated in the attack. Iran warned it will target infrastructure in countries that assisted in the Israeli and the US bombing. In response, Saudi Aramco began evacuating its Samref and Jubail facilities. The UAE also evacuated its Al-Hosn facility while Qatar did the same at its Ras Laffan refinery and Mesaieed petrochemical complex.

The Israeli raid represents the first direct attack on Iran’s upstream production and will escalate attacks on energy infrastructure in the region. “With both sides now signaling a willingness to target critical energy infrastructure, the conflict risks evolving into a broader supply shock—one that could push both crude and LNG prices significantly higher and test the resilience of global energy markets,” notes OilPrice, an energy news website.

“Fuel, energy and natural gas infrastructure of the source of the invasion will be set ablaze and reduced to ashes at the earliest opportunity,” declared Lieutenant Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaqari, a spokesman the IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters.

Oil and natural gas prices are set to go even higher after Iran responded to the Pars attack by sending missiles into Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, striking several locations, including US assets. Iran has vowed to “burn to the ground” US energy infrastructure. The attack by Israel, receiving a green light from the Pentagon, will deliver yet another serious blow to the global economy.

As of this writing, the Iranians have responded with attacks on Qatar’s Ras Laffan refinery and the Aramco refinery in Saudi Arabia.

In addition to increasing energy prices and reducing the living standards of Americans, the cost of the war is adding to an already unmanageable national debt, now standing at more than $36 trillion. “Daily operations in and around Iran for… major military systems are costing taxpayers an estimated $59.39 million per day,” notes the Institute for Policy Studies.

Article posted with permission from Kurt Nimmo