QatarEnergy’s Ras Laffan plant covers about a fifth of global liquefied natural gas supply, and the unprecedented halt now threatens energy security and rattled global markets. LNG shipments from the Middle East had already been disrupted since the weekend as tankers largely stopped transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global fuel flows at the entrance to the Persian Gulf.

QatarEnergy’s Ras Laffan plant covers about a fifth of global liquefied natural gas supply, and the unprecedented halt now threatens energy security and rattled global markets. LNG shipments from the Middle East had already been disrupted since the weekend as tankers largely stopped transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global fuel flows at the entrance to the Persian Gulf.