A source close to Qatar’s North Field Expansion said that the project could be delayed much longer than the one year indicated by the country’s energy minister last week.
The Ras Laffan attack came after Iran’s biggest gas field, South Pars, was attacked by Israel, sending oil prices surging during trading hours on Wednesday.
Further escalation risks wider regional destabilisation and could deepen the strain on Iran’s already struggling economy, analysts warned.
The Israeli strike on Qatar last month has been widely viewed by industry and regional commentators as a marked departure from established political norms.
Attacks on key energy infrastructure sites have exacerbated electricity supply concerns, potentially stoking domestic discontent and highlighting security vulnerabilities.
Hydrogen as a fuel is structurally unaffordable and could be used as a predatory delay tactic in the Middle East, experts warned.
With Trump back in office, doubts remain over how the Middle East’s energy transition can happen at a pace which conforms with global climate targets.
Iraq alone is responsible for around 13% of global gas flaring, according to the World Bank.
Last year’s COP28 provided an important framework for discussing a new energy systems order where fossil fuels would be less central, one analyst said.
The Iran gas pipeline attacks point to escalating tensions in the region.