New Delhi : While addressing the Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday warned that the impacts of the war in the Middle East would be felt for a prolonged period, citing disruptions in India’s supply of crude oil, natural gas and petrochemicals. Alongside the Gulf escalation, Ukrainian forces struck at least two refineries and an oil-loading port in Russia as part of the ongoing war.
Together, these incidents, combined with disruptions stemming from the Iran conflict, have staggered global energy markets. Oil prices, which briefly dipped 11% after Donald Trump postponed strikes on Iranian energy assets, have surged back above $100. The International Energy Agency described the situation as “the biggest oil disruption in history. Energy infrastructure was targeted as the war in Iran, which began on February 28, escalated. Energy hubs across the Persian Gulf came under attack between March 18 and 20.
The world’s largest, triggering retaliatory strikes across the region. QatarEnergy reported “extensive damage” and “sizable fires” at Ras Laffan Industrial City, the world’s largest LNG complex, following Iranian missile strikes on March 19. “Iranian aerial attacks have caused extensive damage to the world’s largest gas plant in Qatar,” Reuters reported, noting production halts that could cut Qatar’s LNG export capacity by up to 17%.
The Associated Press reported that Iran broadened its strikes to Gulf neighbours, while UAE gas facilities were shut after missile interceptions. “These strikes are in retaliation for Israel’s attack on a major natural gas field in Iran,” NPR noted, warning of wider economic shockwaves. Oil prices spiked to multi-year highs as analysts warned of months-long disruptions. On March 21, Ukrainian forces struck Rosneft’s Saratov refinery, damaging a secondary processing unit and a 10,000-cubic-metre storage tank.
India’s oil imports had surged to multi-month highs in December 2025, driven by discounted Russian oil. With the choking of imports via the Strait of Hormuz, India will become more dependent on Russian oil imports. But that demand would be difficult to meet if Moscow’s oil refineries and export terminals remain on the receiving end of Kviy’s drones,
In response, Russia escalated its own strikes. On March 22, the Russian Defence Ministry said it had hit “key facilities within Ukraine’s fuel and energy sector, as well as sites used for the preparation and launch of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles,” Xinhua reported. While the US mainland remains far from active conflict zones, it is not immune from the occasional catastrophic accident.
Read Also : Why Crossing Strait Of Hormuz Is Not So Straight, Why It Matters So Much In The Iran War
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