Olushola Omogbehin
Sequel to the Middle East crisis caused by US-Israeli strikes in Iran, natural gas prices jumped to 50% on Monday after Qatar Energy stopped production because of military attacks on its facilities.
According to BBC report, oil and gas prices rise just as Iran continues to launch strikes across the Middle East in response to ongoing attacks by the US and Israel.
Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil prices, jumped by 10% to touch more than $82 a barrel on Monday after at least three ships were attacked near the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend.
Iran warned vessels not to pass through the crucial waterway in the south of the country, through which about 20% of the world’s oil and gas is shipped.
In the US, stock market indexes opened lower with the Dow Jones Industrial Average off nearly 1% while the Nasdaq index and S&P 500 also began trading in the red.
In London, the FTSE 100 share index fell 1%, with the owner of British Airways among the biggest fallers following the disruption to Middle East airspace.
Banks such as Barclays, Standard Chartered and HSBC also saw their share prices slide due to concerns that a sustained rise in energy prices risks fueling inflation which, in turn, could lead to fewer interest rate cuts by central banks.
Leading stock markets in Europe sustained bigger drops. In France, the CAC-40 fell by 1.8% while Germany’s Dax extended earlier declines to fall by 2.1% in early afternoon trading.
QatarEnergy, which is owned by the state, said that it had suspended producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) after the country’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said a drone launched from Iran targeted a facility in Ras Laffan Industrial City.
International shipping has almost come to a standstill at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, with analysts warning that a prolonged conflict could push energy prices even higher.
“The market isn’t panicking”, Saul Kavonic, head of energy research at MST Marquee told the BBC. “There is more clarity that so far, oil transport and production infrastructure hasn’t been a primary target by any side,” he added.
Meanwhile, energy experts and downstream operators have said that Nigeria may witness a sudden increase in petrol and diesel prices if global crude oil prices surge above $90 per barrel in the face of the tension in middle East.
Already, Punch reports that a fresh volatility in the global oil market, has raised concerns over the vulnerability of Nigeria’s domestic fuel pricing structure despite the country’s push for local refining.
Following the latest price adjustment by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, recent market analysis in many cities indicate that petrol currently sells between N824 and N880 per litre, depending on location, logistics costs, and the marketer involved.
This is coming after the refinery reduced its Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) gantry price by N25 per litre, lowering the ex-depot rate from N799 to N774 per litre in February 2026.
