Reuters reported on the difference in damage to gas and oil in the Middle East

Global gas supply chains have been more susceptible to damage than oil supply chains and will take years to recover from the escalation in the Middle East. This was announced on March 24 by Reuters columnist Gavin Maguire.

"Global gas supply chains have fewer redirection options and smaller storage capacities than the oil market, which makes the consequences for gas consumers much more acute," the publication says.

Compared to the oil industry, key gas infrastructure is more complex and more expensive, both in construction and repair, Maguire notes. Storing natural gas is technically more difficult and requires much more space. At the same time, consumer demand for it strongly depends on the season, and any disruptions increase costs for operators who cannot effectively plan purchases.

A number of these factors strongly influence the ability to quickly resume supply volumes, and, of course, the price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on world markets, states Maguire.

"Prices clearly demonstrate the imbalance: European and Asian benchmark gas prices have increased much more than oil prices since the beginning of the conflict, which indicates that the recovery of the gas market will take longer than the recovery of oil prices," the observer writes about the market reaction to the strikes on energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf countries. the Gulf, including Qatar— the world's second largest LNG exporter.

The author of the article notes that the beginning of the US and Israeli military operation against Iran "could not have been worse" for the gas market. For a decade, LNG demand has been growing at twice the rate of global oil demand, and today's shock was the first warning for developing countries to reduce their dependence on imports.

Regardless of the duration of the armed conflict, the gas sector has already faced severe consequences and will have to deal with them for years, Maguire believes.

Bottleneck: The Middle East is pushing the US into recession

Conflict is becoming an economic problem

The Financial Times newspaper reported on March 22 that the world is in danger of a sharp reduction in LNG supplies, as the last tankers from the Persian Gulf countries are now arriving at their destinations. It was clarified that the situation was related to the suspension of exports from Qatar, which provides about a fifth of the global LNG market, after the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and strikes on the largest Ras Laffan complex.

Denis Astafyev, an entrepreneur and founder of the SharesPro fintech platform, said on March 20 that a sharp rise in oil prices could trigger a recession in a number of the world's largest economies, despite attempts to mitigate the situation with the help of strategic reserves. According to him, the International Energy Agency announced the largest release of reserves in history — 400 million barrels from 32 countries.

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