BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 26. The ongoing
conflict in the Middle East is inflicting heavy damage on the
region’s energy infrastructure, triggering severe disruptions in
global oil and gas supplies. According to Rystad Energy, repair and
restoration costs for affected facilities could already reach $25
billion, with numbers expected to rise as assessments continue,
Trend reports.


The damage spans liquefied natural gas (LNG) trains, refineries,
fuel terminals, and critical gas-to-liquids plants. Spending is
expected to be driven primarily by engineering and construction,
followed by equipment and materials.


A particularly hard-hit site is Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial
City, where LNG trains S4 and S6 were destroyed, forcing the
operator to declare force majeure and cutting capacity by 17%, or
roughly 12.8 million tonnes per year. “Capital alone will not be
sufficient to restore the facility,” Rystad Energy analysts said,
noting that a full recovery could take up to five years. The delay
is largely due to the scarcity of large-frame gas turbines required
for LNG refrigeration compressors, which are produced by only three
manufacturers worldwide—all of which are facing production backlogs
of two to four years.


The Gulf’s recovery will hinge less on finances and more on
structural and logistical constraints. While some facilities may
return online within months, others could remain offline for years.
Iran’s South Pars offshore field and Qatar’s Ras Laffan facility
are of particular concern. Analysts say Ras Laffan faces slow
recovery due to long lead times for critical equipment, while
Iran’s exclusion from Western supply chains means it must rely on
domestic and Chinese contractors—a technically feasible but slower
and more costly approach.







Neighboring Bahrain also faces a distinct disruption scenario.
The BAPCO Sitra Refinery was struck twice, damaging two crude
distillation units and a tank farm, and prompting a force majeure
declaration. “The destruction of a newly commissioned CDU block
just months after first production has eliminated novel processing
capacity, delaying revenue intended to support recent investment,”
analysts said. The refinery had just completed a $7 billion
modernization program, and restoring the units will likely require
international contractors to return under higher conflict-inflated
costs and uncertain war-risk insurance.


Other Gulf states, including the UAE, Kuwait, Iraq, and Saudi
Arabia, experienced moderate-to-minor disruptions. Across the
region, the key factor shaping recovery is the density and
capability of the local engineering, procurement, and construction
(EPC) ecosystem surrounding each asset. Saudi Aramco’s swift
restart at Ras Tanura, where maintenance teams were already onsite
for a scheduled turnaround, illustrates the advantage of deep
domestic capacity.


Recovery in the Gulf will depend on execution speed and the
timing of capital deployment. Operators are expected to prioritize
existing fields over new projects, creating strong demand for EPC
contractors and OEMs with regional experience and existing
agreements with national oil companies. Near-term work will focus
on inspection, engineering, and site preparation, followed by
equipment replacement and construction as procurement constraints
ease. In Iran, ongoing sanctions limit access to Western
contractors and technology, leaving domestic and East Asian players
to lead most reconstruction efforts.