MOSCOW, March 3. /TASS/. The exchange price of gas in Europe reached $785 per 1,000 cubic meters for the first time since January 2023, according to data from London’s ICE exchange. The surge followed statements by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, Iran’s elite military units) about the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The April futures contract at the TTF hub in the Netherlands rose to about $785 per 1,000 cubic meters, or 65.5 euro per MWh (based on the current euro-dollar exchange rate, ICE prices are quoted in euro per MWh). The increase since the start of the day reached 45%.
Gas prices have since slowed their growth to around $700.
In addition, state-owned oil and gas company Qatar Energy announced the suspension of liquefied natural gas (LNG) production and related products due to Iranian airstrikes. Qatar is the world’s third-largest LNG exporter after the United States and Australia, with production capacity of 77 mln tons per year. The country has previously announced plans to expand its LNG facilities to 142 mln tons annually.
The United States and Israel launched a large-scale military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran. At the same time, US leadership openly called on the Iranian population to rise up against their government and seize power.
As a result of the strikes, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several other senior figures in the leadership of the Islamic Republic were killed.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia were also hit.