Global energy security is facing one of its most serious tests in years. Two of the world’s most important gas production sites, Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG hub and Iran’s South Pars facility, have been hit in coordinated missile strikes. Ras Laffan alone supplies around a fifth of the world’s liquefied natural gas, and the damage is reported to be extensive. What does this mean for the global gas supply? Vishala Sri-Pathma has the latest.

The war in Iran could result in a 0.5% decline in global goods trade this year, according to a World Trade Organisation annual forecast. Last year international trade in goods and services trade was worth $34.65 trillion which is about a third of the global economy. In Nigeria, the vast gas reserves are becoming even more strategically important in a volatile global energy climate. So what does this mean for Akwa Ibom, one of Nigeria’s key oil‑producing states?

(The logo of state-owned petroleum company QatarEnergy in front of its Doha headquarters. The company has halted production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) after military attacks on its facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City and Mesaieed Industrial City. Credit: HANNIBAL HANSCHKE/EPA)