Brent Eases to $109.42/bbl

Iran strikes hit LNG, cut Qatar exports; Shell Pearl halts, Israel damage limited, US may release Iranian oil to boost supply.

Published: March 19, 2026

Written by:

Donna Dong

Research Analyst, Flux

Reviewed by:

Mita Chaturvedi

Research Associate, Flux

4 page report

The May’26 Brent futures contract has eased this afternoon, from $113.84/bbl at 12:00 GMT to $109.42/bbl at 17:07 GMT (time of writing).

In the news, an Iranian missile strike targeted Israel's Oil Refineries in the northern port city of Haifa but did not result in major damage, according to Israel's Energy Ministry. Minister Eli Cohen stated that there was a brief power outage, but electricity has been restored to most of those affected. Elsewhere, Iranian attacks have reduced Qatar's LNG export capacity by 17%, causing an estimated $20bn in annual revenue losses and risking supplies to Europe and Asia. QatarEnergy's CEO and energy affairs minister Saad al-Kaabi told Reuters that two of Qatar's 14 LNG trains and one of its two gas-to-liquids plants were damaged in the strikes. Repairs are expected to make 12.8mt of LNG annually unavailable for three to five years, he added. Kaabi also stated that, as a result, QatarEnergy will need to declare force majeure on long-term LNG supply contracts of up to five years for deliveries to Italy, Belgium, South Korea, and China. In related news, Production at Shell’s Pearl gas-to-liquids centre in Qatar has ceased following an attack on Ras Laffan Industrial City that damaged the facility. Pearl GTL is a two-train facility with a processing capacity of 1.6bcf/d of wellhead gas and sustained damage on one of the trains in the previously mentioned attacks. In the US, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the US may soon lift sanctions on Iranian oil stranded on tankers to help increase global supplies and lower prices. "In the coming days, we may unsanction the Iranian oil that's on the water. It's about 140 million barrels," Bessent told Fox Business. He added that this would be 10 days to 2 weeks of supply. Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month (May/Jun) and 6-month (May/Nov) Brent futures spreads are at $4.66/bbl and $22.56/bbl, respectively.

Brent Rebounds to $109/bbl

Brent rebounds to $109; de-escalation messaging limiting upside; Saudi warns $180 oil if disruptions persist

4 page report