
Qatar freezes its LNG restart after a tanker is hit
Qatar has halted the ramp-up at Ras Laffan, the world's biggest LNG plant, after a tanker was struck in the Strait of Hormuz, tightening global gas supply.
Day-by-day tracking of the war and its impact on oil prices

Qatar has halted the ramp-up at Ras Laffan, the world's biggest LNG plant, after a tanker was struck in the Strait of Hormuz, tightening global gas supply.

WTI leapt 8.6% to $78.16 and Brent topped $83 after Iran's Revolutionary Guard declared the Strait of Hormuz closed and struck a container ship trying to cross.

Brent leapt 6.6% to $79.38 and WTI rose to $73.52 after President Trump pronounced the Iran truce dead, threatened new strikes and canceled Tehran's oil sales license.

Seven OPEC+ nations meet Sunday to set output as the war premium drains and crude slides to a three-month low near $68. Do they add more barrels or pause?

Crude has fallen about a quarter this month, but US natural gas is climbing near $3.33 as record LNG exports and summer heat outweigh brimming domestic storage.

A US Treasury license lets Iran sell crude again for 60 days. WTI fell near $71 and Brent below $75, their lowest in nearly three months, as sidelined barrels return.

The Strait of Hormuz is open again, but war-risk insurance near 5% of a tanker's value is keeping crude in the mid-$70s. Underwriters want months of calm first.

Qatar shut the world's biggest LNG plant when the war began. As Hormuz reopens Friday, QatarEnergy expects to reach half its capacity within a month.

The US naval blockade lifts when the Iran deal is signed Friday in Geneva, but 500 waiting tankers, mined waters and depleted Gulf inventories will slow the restart.