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June 23, 2026

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Qatar's Energy Minister and CEO of QatarEnergy Saad Sherida al-Kaabi speaks during a press conference in Doha on June 22, 2026.

Explainer

Qatar blast underscores challenges in race to restart Gulf energy flows

The deadly explosion marks an early test of Gulf efforts to revive oil and gas production following a historic energy supply shock caused by the US-Israel-Iran war.

A picture taken on June 5, 2017, shows a man walking past the Qatar National Bank branch in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Gulf investment to turn inward to rebuild postwar infrastructure: QNB

Charles-Emmanuel de Beauregard, Qatar National Bank’s head of corporate and institutional banking, said that the Gulf countries will need to rebuild their logistics capabilities after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Latest News

Analysis

Gulf aluminum pursues global deals as Hormuz crisis accelerates shift

Aluminum from Dubai sits in the BMW Landshut factory on Oct. 25, 2024 in Ergolding, Germany.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

Turkey pushes Iraq, Syria trade routes as Hormuz crisis disrupts Gulf shipping

Vessels are seen anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, off the port city of Khasab on Oman's northern Musandam Peninsula, on May 17, 2026.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Karen Young

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy

Reve Chaaban

In Doha reporting on culture

Men, wearing protective masks, walk on a plastic pier at Katara beach in the Qatari capital Doha on July 1, 2020 as the country moves into the second phase of its four-step plan to lift COVID-19 lockdown. - People in Qatar cautiously returned to beaches as the Gulf nation, which has one of the world's highest total per capita coronavirus infection rates, continued to reopen society.
Sun-lovers and jetski enthusiasts braved temperatures of 39 degrees celsius (102 Fahrenheit) at Doha's Katara Cultural Village

Qatar coronavirus cases top 100,000 as restrictions ease

The Gulf state announced 546 new cases and five more deaths from the virus on Monday.

TOPSHOT - A trader walks by beneath a stock display board at the Dubai Stock Exchange in the United Arab Emirates, on March 8, 2020. - Saudi's stock exchange fell 6.5 percent and other Gulf markets tumbled to multi-year lows at the start of trading after OPEC and its allies failed to clinch a deal over oil production cuts. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

IMF official: Gulf economies to contract by 7.6% in 2020

The International Monetary Fund official's predictions are worse than earlier ones as the Gulf deals with oil price drops and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Israel OK's transfer of Qatari financial aid to Gaza

Israel approved the transfer of $50 million to the Gaza Strip, apparently in exchange for Hamas keeping calm and refraining from resuming incendiary balloon terrorism.

An ATM is seen outside the building of Qatar National Bank in Doha, Qatar January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer - RC15CADB0E00

Qatar National Bank hit with lawsuit over Americans killed by Hamas in Israel

A wrongful death lawsuit was filed in New York by dozens of relatives of 10 Americans killed or wounded by Hamas attacks in Israel and the West Bank.

Workers are seen at the Al Janoub Stadium built for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup soccer championship during a stadium tour in Al Wakrah, Qatar, December 16, 2019. REUTERS/Corinna Kern - RC2EWD9VPND9

COVID-19 crisis returns spotlight to Gulf migrant communities

Contract migration schemes make citizenship acquisition nearly impossible for migrant workers in the Gulf, and recent economic and health crises make any imminent changes further unlikely.

A man looks as the world's biggest Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tanker DUHAIL as she crosses through the Suez Canal April 1, 2008. The Qatari tanker, which was built to transfer LNG from Qatar to Europe and the U.S., is on her first trip ever from Qatar to Spain. REUTERS/Stringer (EGYPT) - GM1E44200C701

Qatar makes massive LNG ship order

The purchase by Qatar Petroleum from three South Korean companies comes as oil prices continue to rise from the lows earlier in the year.

A merchant counts Turkish lira banknotes at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey, March 29, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC1DD8429180

Qatar triples swap line with Turkey

Qatar has offered support to Turkey’s central bank, expanding a currency-swap agreement to $15 billion as Ankara seeks to mitigate economic shocks from the coronavirus pandemic.

Residents hang their laundry off the railing on their balconies at their apartment building, to disinfect them under sunlight, in the city of Dubai on May 17, 2020, during the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Gulf countries increase virus-related restrictions after new cases

The United Arab Emirates and Qatar registered more than 2,000 coronavirus cases between the two of them on Monday alone.

An Airbus A350-1000 aircraft of Qatar Airways is pictured after a delivery ceremony at the French headquarters of aircraft company Airbus in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, February 20, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau - RC1B38E43750

Qatar Airways mandates full-body protective gear for flight attendants

Passengers will also be required to wear masks per the Gulf carrier's new onboard safety measures as it looks to expand flights amid the crisis.

Qatar to dole out $55,000 fines, jail time for not wearing face masks

Masks are mandatory for all Qataris who leave their homes, except when driving alone.

Gulf’s megaprojects face delays, reassessment

Saudi Arabia has cut capital expenditure for a number of Vision 2030 projects amid a drop in oil prices and Chinese investment. Will other Gulf states follow suit?

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) launches a Tomahawk missile in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn in the Mediterranean Sea in this handout photo March 19, 2011. This was one of approximately 110 cruise missiles fired from U.S. and British ships and submarines that targeted about 20 radar and anti-aircraft sites along Libya's Mediterranean coast. Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn is the U.S. Africa Command task force established to provide operational and tactical command and contr

Intel: US contracts Boeing to build new cruise missiles for Saudi Arabia, Qatar

The US Navy awarded Boeing a nearly $2 billion contract Wednesday to provide Saudi Arabia with 650 new land attack cruise missiles, as well as to upgrade existing ones by the end of 2028.