In brief
Oil prices surged nearly 5% to nearly $110 per barrel after reports of an airstrike on a facility in Iran's South Pars gas field. The attack has drawn warnings from Iran's military of potential retaliation against perceived aggressors, as gas flows to Iraq were also suspended to bolster domestic supplies.
Oil prices leapt to nearly $110 a barrel after Iranian media reported an airstrike hitting a facility on the world's largest natural gas field.
The Brent crude oil benchmark hit $109.91 a barrel just after 14:30GMT, more than 5% higher than Tuesday's prices, remaining above $108.
The surge followed a report from Tasnim, a news agency affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), that Iran's petrochemical complex on the South Pars gas field had been hit.
Meanwhile, the benchmark UK gas price also jumped by 6% to 143.53p a therm before falling back below the 140p mark.
While the price of both oil and gas spiked, they remained below highs seen earlier in the conflict. Oil reached $116.78 a barrel on 9 March, while UK gas peaked at 162.55p a therm on 3 March.
Iran's oil ministry stated that a fire at the petrochemical complex was under control on Wednesday afternoon, reported Tasnim, although the extent of the damage to the facility was still unclear.
In response to the strike, Iran's military has warned that it would take decisive action against any threats to its energy infrastructure.
The military stated, If the fuel, energy, gas, and economic infrastructures of our country are attacked by the American-Zionist enemy, we will carry out a powerful counterattack and will severely strike the origin of that aggression as well.
Iran has also suspended the flow of gas to Iraq in response to the attack to shore up domestic supplies, according to a senior Iraqi official.
The vast majority of Iran's gas supply - 94% - is used domestically, according to data from the Gas Exporting Countries Forum. Despite this, Qatar also operates facilities on the gas field and had previously halted production in response to the conflict.
Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman cautioned that strikes on energy infrastructure pose a threat to global energy security.
