Here's a look at the known damage to Gulf energy facilities as the U.S. and Iran meet for talks

Dow Jones
Apr 11

MW Here's a look at the known damage to Gulf energy facilities as the U.S. and Iran meet for talks

By Isabel Wang and Myra P. Saefong

Investors are eager to gain insights into the extend of the damage to energy infrastructure in the Middle East after six weeks of war

Nearly six weeks of war in Middle East saw more than 60 energy facilities struck across at least nine countries in the Persian Gulf.

Following six weeks of war in Middle East, more than 60 energy facilities have been struck across the Persian Gulf. The damage spans at least nine countries, and can be easily counted in terms of shuttered crude-oil terminals and smoking natural-gas refineries.

What's harder to measure is what comes next - and how long a recovery might take. That's one of the key factors at play as a U.S. delegation is set to meet with Iranian counterparts in Pakistan over the weekend about their fragile cease-fire.

Drone and missile attacks by both U.S.-Israeli and Iranian forces have pushed the Middle East conflict beyond the Strait of Hormuz - hitting refineries, oil fields, ports and gas plants across Gulf states including Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman, with different degrees of damage, according to data compiled by JPMorgan Commodities Research.

"We expect most attacks will not cause long-lasting disruptions. Some facilities, however, will face lengthy repair timelines, with at least eight assets appearing severely impacted," a team led by Natasha Kaneva, head of global commodities strategy at JPMorgan, said Thursday in a client note.

The table below shows the eight energy facilities with the highest levels of damage. Qatar's Ras Laffan oil-and-gas complex, for example, may require years of repairs to restore 17% of its damaged capacity, while Bahrain's Sitra refinery was struck twice, JPMorgan's team said.

   Asset                                                                                  Country  Asset Type                  Operator                     Capacity  Capacity Outage  Unit   Degree of Damage 
   Shahid Dolati Oil Depot                                                                Iran     Fuel distribution terminal  NIORDC                       N/A       N/A              kbbl   High, most storage tanks destroyed, per satellite imagery 
   Shahr-e Rey Oil Depot                                                                  Iran     Fuel distribution terminal  NIORDC                       N/A       N/A              kbbl   High, several tanks destroyed, per satellite imagery 
   South Pars Phases 2-8                                                                  Iran     Oil field                   NIOC                         944       944              kbd    High, missile strike caused widespread shut-ins 
   Rasgas 2 T3-T5                                                                         Qatar    LNG facility                QatarEnergy LNG              14        14               mpta   High, train 4 damaged by missiles (about 5 mtpa), long repairs needed 
   Rasgas 3 T6-T7                                                                         Qatar    LNG facility                QatarEnergy LNG              16        16               mpta   High, train 6 damaged by missiles (about 8 mtpa), long repairs needed 
   Habshan Complex                                                                        UAE      Gas processing              ADNOC                        6         6                bscfd  High, significant damage reported, one person killed from falling debris 
   Bahrain Sitra Refinery                                                                 Bahrain  Refinery                    BAPCO (Bahrain)              448       448              kbd    High, 50% of capacity (with 1 CDU) severely damaged, several months to ramp back up 
   Tehran Refinery                                                                        Iran     Refinery                    Tehran Oil Refining Company  250       250              kbd    High, several fuel tanks damaged, but operations can return within month 
   SOURCE: JPMORGAN COMMODITIES RESEARCH, RYSTAD, IIR, REUTERS, BLOOMBERG FINANCIAL L.P. 

Oil refineries were hit the hardest, with about 2.4 million barrels per day of capacity taken offline across 20 Gulf coast plants, according to the JPMorgan team. Recovery is expected in stages over the coming weeks and months.

See: Here's how much it could cost to fix Mideast oil and gas production damaged by the Iran war

Two industries, two problems

Global oil output in March had an estimated shortfall of 8 million barrels a day, or 8% less than needed, according BNY.

"Historically, crude production tends to recover more quickly, particularly if the damage is not structural," said Rebecca Babin, senior energy trader and managing director at CIBC Private Wealth. "But the damage we've seen has been more concentrated in refining and [liquefied-natural-gas] infrastructure. Those facilities typically take longer to repair and restart than upstream production."

Upstream production, or the process of getting oil out of the ground, is relatively straightforward; it's easier to isolate the problem and restart the system quickly. By contrast, oil refineries and LNG plants are more complex, tightly connected systems that rely on specialized equipment and precise operating conditions. Damage to one key part can halt the entire facility, and repairs tend to take longer because of stricter safety requirements. As a result, even if crude production comes back, fuel and gas supplies can remain constrained due to slower recovery in these downstream facilities.

The existing crude-oil problem isn't even infrastructure-related. "It's just the fact that they can't get through the Strait of Hormuz," said Rob Thummel, senior portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital, a long-only firm specialized in energy-infrastructure investments.

On the other hand, the destruction of the LNG facility in Qatar is probably the most impactful on the global economy - and it's the reason why global LNG prices in Europe and Asia will be higher for an extended period of time, Thummel said.

Surging energy prices around the world have forced many countries to adopt policy measures in response to the disruption to global fuel markets.

But there have been some signs of relief. The most active Dutch TTF natural-gas contract (TTFCN26) on Friday settled at EUR43.64, after reaching a high of EUR74.00 on March 19, according to FactSet data.

See: What's at stake for markets as the U.S. and Iran talk this weekend

The temporary cease-fire deal between the U.S. and Iran has been helpful, but it doesn't solve immediate supply challenges, said Baron Lamarre, co-founder of the International Digital Exchange and former head of trading at Petronas.

"If the cease-fire holds," Lamarre said he thinks it still could take months and even years to rebuild the damaged oil industry throughout the Middle East. That's why he sees a floor of at least $80 a barrel for oil, potentially over the next two to three years.

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery (CL00) (CL.1) (CLK26) lost 13.4% this week to settle at $96.57 on Friday. June Brent crude (BRN00) (BRNM26) was off 12.7% for the week, to $95.20. Both benchmark contracts logged their largest one-week percentage declines since April 24, 2020, according to FactSet data.

Joy Wiltermuth contributed.

-Isabel Wang -Myra P. Saefong

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April 11, 2026 09:00 ET (13:00 GMT)

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